A Malfoy Christmas Carol
by Draconius du Vryle
Summary: Better summary and a character list inside.  My take on "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. One of my favorite stories parodied by one of my favorite series and one of my favorite games. Please read and review as feedback is precious to me. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing! All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, 'A Christmas Carol' to Charles Dickens, and 'God Bless Us Everyone' to Mr. Alan Silvestri. All I lay claim to are my own characters.

Draco Malfoy has been a pain in the Spirits of Christmas' neck long enough. On Christmas Eve he receives an ominous warning from an uninvited guest and is consequently taken on the journey of his life. Can the lessons the Spirits have to teach him bring him back to the light, or will he be doomed to am afterlife of horror and constant wandering with no chance of peace? Please Read and Review! Thank you!

Ebenezer Scrooge: Draco Malfoy

Bob Cratchit: Ron Weasley (sort of)

Marley's Ghost: Abaraxas Malfoy

Tiny Tim: Ginny Weasley

Belle: Anna (OC)

Fezziwig: Anna's Mother

Two Portly Gentlemen: Two Pretty Hufflepuff Girls

Nephew Fred: Thomas (OC)

Ignorance and Want: Heartless

Christmas Past: Kairi

Christmas Present: Sora

Christmas Future: Riku

* * *

><p>Miscellaneous Characters<p>

Harry Potter

The Weasley Family

Mad-Eye Moody

Remus Lupin

Gregory Goyle

Albus Dumbledore

* * *

><p>Christmastime had finally arrived for the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and everyone was feeling elated in spite of the recent excitement. Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley's younger sister, had passed out during the middle of Charms class and she wouldn't wake up. She was now in St. Mungo's hospital and was expected to be there through the rest of the holidays. However, it was an event that had been pushed to the back of everyone's minds because for the next two weeks the students wouldn't have to pick up a quill or piece of parchment, and could finally spend some time relaxing with their families. That is, everyone who hadn't elected to stay behind at school. A select few students had put their names down to remain on the grounds during Christmas and among them were Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy. The first week of Christmas break passed far too quickly and before they knew it, Christmas Eve was upon them. That evening at dinner, Draco was sitting in his usual spot at the Slytherin table and was showing off a few of his presents that he had opened earlier that morning to anyone who walked by.<p>

"See?" he remarked, "This is my new cauldron. It's made of the finest quality materials and reinforced with a Non-Spilling Spell so it's guaranteed never to melt or make a mess. My father knows just where to get these. Oh, and look at this: brand new robes. My father made sure I have the best that money can buy."

As Draco continued boasting, Ron and Harry had taken an unfortunate moment to walk by the Slytherin table on the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry was asking Ron,

"Do you know when Ginny is coming back? Ever since she passed out in class there's been no word."

Ron rolled his eyes and replied in a bored tone,

"You'll know when I do, Harry."

Draco saw them coming and when they had gotten close enough, he said loudly enough for them to hear,

"It's just too bad that Weasley couldn't get anything new this year. I heard that all he got was an old pair of hand-me-down robes that used to belong to his sister."

Draco's small contingent of Slytherins found this uproariously funny and Ron went pink in the ears. If there was any one thing that he could not stand, it was having his family mocked. He had a murderous look on his face and he balled up his fists at his sides as though everything in him was resisting giving Malfoy a lovely punch in the jaw. Harry noticed it, placed a hand on his shoulder, and led him away from the group of chuckling Slytherins. The pair of friends made their way back to Gryffindor Tower, and Ron audibly muttered horrible things he wanted to see happen to Malfoy the whole way there. When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry spoke the password (Icicles) and she let them through. As soon as they made it into the Common Room, Ron made a mad dash up the stairs with more comments about things he would like to see befall Malfoy.

"Stick his head in a pot of Bobotuber pus and then leave him out in the Forbidden Forest for Aragog to get him. Bet they'd loooooove to get their slimy claws on him. Yeah, fresh pure-blooded Malfoy anyone?"

When he had reached his dorm, he was about to throw his book-bag on the bed, but noticed that a letter from his parents was already occupying it. It was addressed from St. Mungo's, which Ron thought particularly odd, and he picked it up. He had just opened it when Harry walked into the dorm and asked,

"You alright, mate?"

"Yeah, hang on. Mum and Dad sent me a letter."

Ron's eyes scanned the page, and the farther down his eyes went the whiter he seemed to grow. He never took his eyes off the parchment as he felt his knees suddenly grow weary and his bed had to catch him. He read the page a few more times, hardly believing the message that it bore, and his behavior scared Harry so bad that he rushed to Ron's side and began to shake him a little.

"Ron! Ron, what's the matter?"

Without a word Ron handed over the letter to Harry, his hand shaking the entire time. Harry read it and at once understood why Ron suddenly looked like he had been cursed with a Slug-Burping Spell again. The letter read,

_Dear Ron,_

_Your dad and I have some bad news that, unfortunately, we cannot be there to tell you in person. We have been detained at St. Mungo's for a while and we will come and get you after the holidays are over. We have already sent Professor Dumbledore a letter explaining the situation. Ginny is dying. We're sorry that we had to tell you this way, but there was nothing else we could do. We love you very much and we will see you after the holidays._

_Mum and Dad_

Harry read the letter several more times scarcely believing the words that it bore. He sank to the floor and silently pleaded,

"Please not Ginny. Oh, God, not Ginny!"

Meanwhile, downstairs, the Slytherin table was still chuckling at Draco's rather unfunny joke towards Ron. After a moment or two, the laughter died down and Draco resumed showing off his trinkets to whoever would look at them. A few minutes of this passed and Draco noticed a second-year Gryffindor coming towards the Slytherin table. He was wearing second-hand robes, carrying a decidedly used copy of _Standard Book of Charms Grade 2_ under his arm, and humming Joy to the World to himself. Just as the boy walked by, Draco took it upon himself to try and insult the boy.

"Hey look, guys; looks like we've got a distant relative of the Weasels. Look at him: same old hand-me-down robes, same stupid look on his face; you think he fancies a swim in the upstairs toilet?"

The boy continued walking as though he hadn't heard Draco at all, and it pissed Draco off. He could not think of a time where he hadn't been able to instill fear and intimidation in someone younger than him and he was not about to be ousted by this shrimp of a boy.

"Goyle, get him," Draco muttered contemptuously under his breath. The decidedly taller and stronger Slytherin got up from the table and tried to make a grab for the second-year, but the smaller boy deftly stepped out of the way and Goyle's hands grasped naught but the air. The second year then wheeled around on his heels and began walking back towards Draco. When he had reached him, Draco smirked and smugly asked,

"You think you can take me on? Go ahead; I dare you."

The second year looked up at him and thrust his hand forward. For a second, Draco thought he was going to get slugged and he balled up his fist, but then he saw that the boy had extended his hand in greeting instead of attack. Draco stared at him with confusion as the boy boldly proclaimed,

"Hi; I'm Thomas. I'm a second-year Gryffindor and I would like to invite you and all the Slytherins to have Christmas dinner with the Gryffindors tomorrow night."

Draco stared blankly at the boy as he continued,

"Things have been bleak around here with all this talk of the Dark Lord returning, so in the spirit of Christmas maybe we can forget about the fighting between our Houses for a while and have a Merry Christmas. Whaddayasay?"

Thomas' hand never lowered as Draco continued staring at him. Suddenly he felt his insides seethe in anger and he went red in the face as he proclaimed in a tone that positively dripped with acid,

"I would rather face a fire-breathing dragon than consort with the likes of Gryffindor! Goyle! Teach this little filth who's in charge around here!"

When it became apparent that his efforts for peace were fruitless (and he had a raging Slytherin on his tail that reminded him of an angry gorilla) Thomas took off for Gryffindor Tower as fast as his legs would carry him. He made it through the door just in time and collapsed behind the portrait of the Fat Lady completely out of breath. He laid there for a few moments and quickly decided that trying to invite the Slytherins to Christmas dinner was not the smartest idea. Once he was breathing a bit easier, he got to his feet and walked to the fireplace to relax in one of the armchairs there. However, two fifth-year Gryffindors who he observed to be quite grief-stricken already occupied them.

Back downstairs, Draco was still in a tizzy about the nerve of that little runt. In his anger, he got up from the table without so much as a word to his fellow Slytherins and picked up his things to take back to the his dorm. Just as he had everything in his arms and began walking away, two Hufflepuff girls who had also elected to stay behind at school approached him. They were both carrying clipboards and wide smiles on their faces. Draco eyed them with contempt as he sneered,

"And what do YOU want?"

The bolder of the two girls replied in a pleasant voice,

"Hi Draco. We won't take much if your time, but…"

"No."

"'No?' But you don't even know what it is yet."

"Whatever you're doing, I don't want any part of it."

"Well, we're not selling anything, if that's what you think."

"Then why are you wasting my time?"

"Glad you asked. You see, a few of us are trying a raise some money for some of the worse off students who elected to stay behind so they can go and get themselves something nice at Hogsmeade the next trip out. Will you help us?"

Draco set his stuff down and crossed his arms. He calmly asked,

"These 'worse off' students have parents right?"

"Well yes, but…."

"And these parents have jobs, right?"

"Of course, but…"

"So these parents should be able to give their little Mudbloods plenty of pocket money to go and spend on useless junk, right?"

Both girls recoiled a little at the term 'mudblood' but the bolder girl pressed on,

"Many of these students' parents only make enough money to put a roof over their heads and food on the table. They can't spare a single Knut towards Christmas gifts and a lot of those students would rather die than ask them for the extra cash."

Draco rolled his eyes at them and said,

"If they would rather die, then they had better do it so that I don't have to look at their stupid faces anymore! Now for the last time, GO AWAY!"

He picked up his gifts and bolted past the two girls missing the looks of contempt that they both gave him. As he walked down into the dungeons toward the Slytherin Common Room he muttered angrily to himself about what a mess the school had become. An invitation to the Gryffindor table and people trying to commit highway robbery? Draco had never felt so insulted in his life, and he had already decided that his father would hear about the evening's events. He continued muttering to himself until he reached the invisible seam in the wall that would allow him entrance into the Common Room. He spoke the password, but nothing happened. He tried again, but the wall remained impassive as ever. Great; a perfect ending to a perfect evening. Draco swore loudly and went to kick the wall, but he saw something that stopped his foot halfway from connecting with the solid stone.

The head of his Grandfather had materialized in front of him standing by itself from the stone wall. This was impossible as Draco's Grandfather had died several years ago of the Dragon Pox and no trace of his ghost had ever been seen. Draco stood astonished with his foot in the air, giving him the appearance of a befuddled flamingo. The face that was protruding from the stone was pale and wan as though it had been sick a long time and the eyes….. oh those eyes. Draco would never forget them as long as he lived. They were an eerie green the color of poison and, in spite of the color, Draco could only find one word to describe them: lifeless. They stared blankly like doll's eyes and seemed to see nothing. Draco stared at the face a moment longer and when he found his voice, it came out as little more than a whimper as he stammered,

"Gr…Grandfather?"

As soon as that single word left his mouth, the apparition's mouth split open and uttered a loud, wild shriek that resounded throughout the dungeon. It nearly deafened Draco and he fell backwards and turned away from the wall covering his ears. Several times he shouted,

"STOP! STOP!" and it was just then that Goyle found him writhing on the floor. The larger Slytherin looked confused at his friend's behavior and went into a defensive crouch. He raised his fists and demanded in his gravelly voice,

"You alright? Where are they? I'll smash 'em!"

Draco gingerly withdrew his hands from his ears and looked back at the wall. There was nothing there! The face was gone! He got up off the floor and gave Goyle a sharp look. Now red in the face from embarrassment, he sharply said,

"Tell anyone that you found me like that, and I'll hex you so bad that your own mother won't recognize you."

Hastily Goyle nodded and spoke the password that allowed him access into the Common Room. Draco hung back a moment to inspect the wall, but he found it smooth and unyielding with no trace of a ghostly head. He mentally scolded himself for acting like a scared sheep, picked up his gifts that had clattered all over the floor when he fell, and spoke the password to get into the Common Room. After a shower and a few bites of the treats he had bought from Honeydukes, he felt a little better. He went to his dorm to see if Goyle was sleeping, and found him snoring away. He double-checked, as was his ritual when he did this, to make sure that no one was watching him and he started shuffling around in his trunk. He pulled a secret latch that only he knew about and it revealed a secret compartment. From that compartment he pulled a book and he set it on the floor beside him. He closed the compartment and hid the book under his dressing-gown then walked back down into the Common Room and began reading.

He read until he felt himself begin to grow comfortably drowsy, and his head began lolling from side to side until it came to rest on his chin. His eyes had just closed when he heard something that roused him from his dreamy state. The sound of something heavy being drug across the floor outside the Slytherin dorm was getting closer and closer, and Draco was suddenly reminded of his Grandfather's ghostly face as he drew his wand. He tried to sound bold as he shouted,

"Peeves, if this is some kind of prank, I'm not amused! I'll have Professor Snape on you!

However, his threat seemed to grow unheeded for the sound was growing closer all the time. Finally, Draco could make out the distinct sounds of metal being drug across stone and he shouted again,

"That's enough, Peeves! Stop it!"

At that, the sound ended abruptly right outside the entrance to the Common Room. Draco breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the fire. However, his relief was short-lived. As soon as he turned back around, something came flying through the solid stone and had come to rest at the side of the chair where Draco was sitting. This scared him so bad that he practically flew out of the chair (sending his book flying as well) and to the other side of the room where he got a good look at the offending object. It was a set of scales. A heavy, off-kilter, and unbalanced looking set of scales attached to a thick chain that could have easily weighed several pounds. He stared at the unusual object for a moment, and then the sound started up again. The chain went a bit slack, and Draco knew that something had entered the room. Unwilling to do so, but unable to help it, his eyes followed the now-slack chain upwards and his eyes came to rest on a horrible ghoulish figure that would haunt his dreams to the end of his days. This was not like the ghosts he was used to seeing. They were silvery and kind of shimmered. This being was an eerie green the color of dead flesh and was covered in large boils all over its body. Once in a while, one of those boils would pop and a viscous silver fluid would drain out and dribble down. The chain was much thicker and longer than Draco had originally thought, too. It snaked across the apparition's torso, arms and legs and lead off into tendrils that bore curious adornments. Several more off-kilter scales were attached to it, as well as heavy-looking money boxes, strange documents that looked like they were made of strong iron and an assortment of odd badges and honors that all read the same word: FOOL. Draco couldn't stop shaking at the sight of this thing. He had seen ghosts before, so why did this ghost have this effect on him? Nonetheless, he tried to draw himself up to his fullest height and he shouted at the ghost with all the courage he could muster,

"Who do you think you are coming in here and disturbing me? Are you a friend of Peeves? I swear that when my father hears about this, he's gonna…"

Draco never finished his sentence because the ghost let out another long wail that resounded throughout the Common Room and it caused Draco to fall back to his knees and his hands flying back to his ears. When the ghost finished shrieking it said in a voice that sounded pathetically woeful and frighteningly eerie,

"Draco."

But Draco refused to look up at it as he quivered on the floor and stammered in a small voice that was little more than a whimper,

"Wh…wha…what do you…want with…m…..me?"

The ghost lowered his eyes and set them upon the frightened boy. The slack mouth opened ever so slightly this time and replied in a soft voice,

"Much."

Hearing the ghost speak more softly gave Draco the courage to look up at it, but he did not leave the floor as he asked in that same whimper,

"Who….who…are you?"

The ghost's face contorted into an expression that could have been surprise, but it was hard to read. Nonetheless, the voice remained unchanged as it said,

"I am your Grandfather: Abraxas. Do you not recognize me?"

"Um…..sort of. You died when I was real young. Um…..Grandfather? Could you not drag those chains around like that? See none of the other ghosts have chains and….."

"SILENCE!"

"AHHHH! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" he shouted and buried his head in his arms again.

"I have not come to harm you, boy! I have come to warn you! You are in grave danger."

However Draco did not dare look back up and continued to lay there on the floor with his head buried in his arms. The Ghost sighed impatiently and said,

"Get up off that floor, Draco. It is not becoming of your bloodline."

Draco just lay there whimpering. All the arrogance and swagger had left him and had left little more than a quivering, frightened child. The ghost sighed again and said,

"Perhaps I was too harsh with you. I forgot that you are, after all, still a child. Please get up and listen to me. I have something to tell you and my time here is brief."

Draco, though still scared beyond words, looked back up at the Ghost and saw that its expression had gone from a blank dead look to one of almost fatherly comfort.

"Get up off that dirty floor and sit in the chair like a proper young man," repeated the Ghost in a stern tone, and Draco didn't dare disobey. Once he had taken his seat, the Ghost took the chair across from his Grandson. Finding himself in this more casual manner, Draco ventured a question,

"Why…..why are you all chained up like that?"

The Ghost looked woefully down at his bonds and replied,

"The chains that you see are the result of a life of lusting after power. It was never enough for me. I always had to have more and now….now I am doomed to wander the earth for all eternity to witness the charity and compassion that I can no longer share with the world. I was wrong. Our whole family was wrong, and now I can find no peace. No rest shall ever fall on my limbs again, and there is nothing I can do."

"What are all those things on the chains?" Draco asked, feeling a little braver.

"The objects that you see are the instruments that I used in my desire to acquire more power. These iron-clad documents, all the bribe money, the so-called badges of honor and these scales that show the unbalance in my sense of justice…..all monuments to an unfulfilled life that has amounted to nothing more than a tragic afterlife where I am a mere shadow of my former self."

"But, Grandfather, I always heard that you were a great man who would stop at nothing to bring honor to the family name."

The Ghost stood up from the chair and shouted,

"HONOR? You call this honorable? My honor was lost long ago! Skewed into a foul perversion that became unrecognizable and unrecoverable! THIS is not honor, boy! THIS is the epitome of dishonor!"

Draco shied away from the Ghost and said,

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!"

The Ghost sat back down and said in a softer tone,

"However, I have come to warn you."

"Y….yes. You already said that. Didn't you also say something about me being in danger?"

"I did."

"So, what's the danger?"

"Haven't you been listening? I have come to offer you a chance of escaping my fate. Or would you know the weight of the chain you yourself have?"

Draco got a panicked look on his face and he looked down expecting to see thick heavy chains snaking across his arms, but there was nothing there."

"I don't see any chain."

"Mine were also invisible until the day of my death. Yours is not yet that heavy, but if you continue down your current path, you will find yourself fettered and unable to break free."

"So what am I supposed to do? I don't want to be chained like that!"

"Then listen well. You will be haunted by three Spirits."

"Wha; haunted? I don't want to be haunted! Is this the only chance that I have?"

"It is. Expect the first when the clock chimes one."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

"Expect the second on the stroke of two."

Now feeling unable to argue with his Grandfather on the point about being haunted at all, he tried one last ditch effort,

"Can't they just all come at the same time? What's the point of coming at different times of the night?"

However the Ghost appeared not to hear him and continued,

"The third will appear when the final stroke of midnight has ceased to vibrate. Oh, and I should also warn you. These Spirits look (ahem) different than what you are used to. Do not insult them, whatever you do."

Draco just sat there, rooted to the spot. Suddenly the Ghost got a little too close for comfort and Draco shrank back from it as far as his chair would let him as it said,

"I cannot warn you enough not to follow in my footsteps, Draco. That path leads to no good."

The Ghost withdrew and a few more boils erupted, spilling that disgusting silvery liquid down a chain. However, it ignored it and continued to look at Draco with all the care and love that a ghost can muster.

"Please heed me and do not shut out the lessons that these Spirits have to give you. Take them and keep them close to your heart."

Finally, Abraxas' Ghost turned away from Draco, wearily picked his chains up and hovered back to the entrance of the Common Room. He turned around only once more to say,

"This is the last time I can see you Draco. Don't go looking for me, for you will not find me."

Draco just sat there in silence as the Ghost departed from him and then from the hall of Hogwarts forever. After the Ghost had left, Draco remained sitting in the armchair for a while pondering everything Abraxas' Ghost had told him. Soon, his thoughts became jumbled and every few seconds he would look around the room expecting to see some horrible denizen of the Spirit World that had come to steal his soul. But the longer he looked, the more he came to tell himself that he had just been having a really strange hallucination brought on by eating sweets before bed. Finally exhaustion got the better of him and he lifted his body, which felt heavier than it ever had before, out of the chair and he trudged his way up the stairs and to his bed. Luckily he found his book, so he picked it up and hid it underneath his dressing-gown and when he reached his trunk he replaced it in that little secret compartment. His book tucked safely away, he threw himself under the blankets and, mercifully, quickly fell into a dreamless sleep. It seemed as though he had just fallen asleep when a resounding chime from his bedside clock informed him that one o'clock had arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco bolted upright in bed and glanced fearfully around the dorm expecting to see some awful drooling apparition with bloody fangs and sharp talons, but there was nothing except the sound of Goyle's heavy snores in the adjacent bed. He breathed a sigh of relief and snuggled back down under his blankets muttering,

"I knew it: nothing. Seems my dear old Grandfather was mistaken. Just a load of rubbish, all this "haunting" nonsense."

He spoke too soon. A brilliant golden light filled the room nearly blinding him. After a moment, the light seemed to draw in on itself until it had become a mere aura around a form that looked human. When the spots in front of his eyes had cleared, Draco saw a beautiful girl who looked no older than him standing at the side of his bed. She had gorgeous shoulder-length, chestnut colored hair, wore a simple stark-white gown that was belted at the waist with a gold rope and appeared to have a wreath of holly in her hair. It was all Draco could do not to stare at the girl like an idiot and when he opened his mouth, all that came out was,

"Uh….er…..um…..uh…hi."

The girl gave a little silvery laugh at his awkwardness and replied,

"Hello Draco Malfoy."

He started a little at the sound of his name and stammered,

"H…how do you know my name?"

"I know many things about you, my friend."

"Who are you?"

"I am the Spirit whose coming was foretold to you. I'm Kairi: the Spirit of Christmas Past."

"Wait, 'Christmas Past?' What does Christmas have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with your current state, Draco. Come with me and you will understand."

Draco eyed the Spirit suspiciously and asked,

"Go with you where?"

Kairi tipped her head back and gave another silvery laugh before replying,

"Why to the past of course. Your past."

"I….I don't think…."

Kairi walked lightly towards him and gently took his hand.

"Come," she beckoned.

When she touched him, Draco felt a sudden rush of what could only be described as light flow through him and it made him feel good. He threw the covers back and got out of bed and walked with Kairi, hand-in-hand, until they got to the entrance of the Common Room. Kairi didn't stop walking so Draco said,

"If you'll give me a moment, I'll let us out."

"There is no need for passwords and codes when you are with me, Draco. Don't be afraid."

They continued walking forward and Draco felt a sudden stab of fear pierce his heart as they approached the wall…..and walked right through it. With wide eyes, he looked down to see if he was injured. Kairi saw him do this and, sensing his hesitation, reassured him,

"We are invisible, Draco. Unheard and unseen. While you are with me, no harm shall befall you."

"O…okay, I guess."

They continued walking upwards. Kairi led him past the Great Hall, up the stairs past the portrait of the Fat Lady and finally up to the Astronomy Tower. But she didn't stop there. She began advancing the both of them towards the edge of the tower and a split-second later, Draco realized that she was intending to walk off the edge.

"Wait a second," he said, "I don't have my broom! Oh, Merlin, you're here to kill me!"

Kairi turned back to him and repeated,

"While you are with me, no harm shall befall you. A touch of my hand here," she placed her hand over his heart, "And you shall be upheld in more than this mortal state."

At the touch of her hand over his heart, Draco felt himself grow light. Really light. In fact, he felt as if he had no mass at all. He looked down and saw that his feet had, in fact, left the stone floor of the tower. He was flying! No broomstick, no levitation spell, he was just flying. Kairi grasped his hand a little more tightly and asked,

"Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"To fly."

Draco's thoughts went to the book that he had been reading and a swirl of delight went through him.

"I'm ready," was all he said and they began rocketing forward. It was the most incredible feeling that Draco had ever experienced in his life! Even though it was winter, he didn't even feel cold even though he saw flurries of snow flying around him and fresh piles of snow on the ground below him. He couldn't help but utter a whoop of delight as he saw the turrets of Hogwarts disappear below him, his reflection on the surface of the lake (and the reflection of the Giant Squid who lived in the lake). He saw the tops of the buildings that made up Hogsmeade, and then they were over London. Suddenly, everything began to get brighter, almost as though the sun was rising. The light continued to grow brighter until it was quite obviously day-time and Draco felt himself slowing down and approaching a very familiar destination: his own house.

Kairi stopped them just outside of a window emitting a golden glow. She looked at Draco and asked,

"You recognize this place, do you not?"

Draco scoffed at her and said,

"Of course! It's my house! What are we doing here?"

"Shall we go in?"

"Well, it's my house isn't it?"

Arrogantly, Draco released Kairi's hand and tried to walk through the wall. However, he merely succeeded in bumping his nose against the hard, unforgiving brick.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, "I thought you said I wouldn't get hurt!"

Kairi gave him a disapproving look and took his hand again.

"Next time, perhaps, you'll be less eager to get rid of me. Let's go."

Kairi led him through the wall and once inside, Draco saw that they were standing in his room. It was opulently painted in vivid greens and silver and there were mountains of toys everywhere. Everything that a child could ever want or desire seemed to have congregated in that one room.

"You know this place well, do you not?" asked Kairi.

"Well, duh, it's my room."

"Then you recognize the child here too?"

Draco looked down and saw himself. A much younger self, of course, but himself nonetheless.

"It's…me."

Draco stared at his five-year old self and saw that he looked sad. Not just merely sad though, but downright miserable as though he had just been force-fed a whole bottle of Skele-grow. As they observed the unhappy child, Kairi asked,

"Why do you look so unhappy here? It's Christmas Day and you are surrounded by everything that a child could ever hope for."

"I don't know," was the only solemn answer that Draco could find. Suddenly, Younger Draco began to sing a little.

"_Oh come let us adore Him, Oh come let us adore Him, Oh come let us adore Him_….."

But before he could finish, the door slammed open and a blonde witch who looked to be about the size of a small elephant entered the room with all the grace of a great, lumbering hippo. Younger Draco hastily got up and retreated to a far corner of the room. The little boy squeaked,

"I didn't do anything wrong, Nanny Violet! Please, I didn't do anything!

But Nanny Violet, as she was apparently called, ignored the cries for mercy from the young child out from the corner and proceeded to paddle him. With every strike she annunciated,

"YOU-WILL-NOT-TOUCH-NANNY'S-THINGS-AGAIN!"

She released him, and he fell to the ground but she continued shouting,

"If I find my things moved around one more time, young man, I go straight to your father! DO YOU HEAR ME!"

Little Draco just lay there on the floor crying as five years old are wont to do when they feel they have been wronged.

"Stop crying! You bring shame to your bloodline every time you cry!"

And with that, Nanny Violet left the room with all the grace with which she had entered and slammed the door behind her. After witnessing the whole scene, Older Draco stood there looking white in the face and seemed unable to say a word. However, Kairi placed her hand on his shoulder and said,

"That was a horrid woman. Whose choice was it to make her your care-giver at that age?"

"I…..don't know. Why show me this Christmas? That was one of the worst ones I remember."

"Ahhh, but we are not quite done here. Keep watching."

Draco turned his attention back to his Younger Self and felt desperate to try and comfort him. But then the comfort came. The door opened again and a kind looking old housekeeper entered the room. She approached the boy and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Younger Draco looked up and threw his arms around the lady. He sobbed into her shoulder for a moment before she pulled him away and said,

"I have a Christmas present for you, Draco. Here."

She produced a square package wrapped in brown paper and gave it to him.

"Just be certain to keep it hidden from your father. He wouldn't approve."

Younger Draco nodded and hid the package under his bed. Upon seeing that sight, Older Draco felt a little lighter at heart. Kairi took her hand from his shoulder and slipped it into his.

"Come. Let us see another Christmas."

Draco felt his body lift off the ground and he was once again buffeted with the incredible sensation of flight. However, this journey was a little shorter and when Kairi brought them to a stop, Draco saw himself as a seven-year old. Younger Draco had begun to acquire a bit of a hard look on his face, but he still had the innocence of a child about himself. He was still in his room, but many of the old toys were now gone and had been replaced by shelves of books. Some were children's books while others were meant for young adults, but Younger Draco's eyes were plastered to one book in particular. He was sitting on his bed reading what appeared to be a well-worn, relatively thick book entitled _Peter Pan_. Younger Draco's eyes were skimming the pages rather quickly and he was so absorbed in the adventure that he barely heard the door open. However, when he heard his father ask,

"What are you reading, Draco?" He just about threw the book across the room. But he didn't. He looked up at his father and replied,

"Just a book."

"What kind of book?" Lucius asked in his oily voice.

"A book…about people who can fly."

Lucius gave a haughty sniff at his son and said,

"Let me see it."

Draco looked slightly downcast as he handed over one of his most precious treasures to his father. Lucius scrutinized the cover and gave a self-righteous sneer at the illustrations. Then he opened it to the first page and read,

"Follow the adventures of Peter Pan: the boy who never grew up to the magical island of Neverland. Set your imaginations free as you fight pirates, swim with mermaids, and dance wildly with Indians. The sky is the limit, if you believe in fairies."

Lucius gave another sneer as he closed the book and looked down his nose at Younger Draco.

"This is rubbish, son. Don't you understand that fairy tales like this are nonsense?"

"Yes father," Younger Draco replied, but there was a definite hint of disdain in his voice.

Lucius eyed the book for a moment longer before tucking it under his arm.

"Come Draco; your Grandfather is waiting downstairs to meet you. He has waited most patiently to meet you and it would be wise not to keep him waiting any longer."

"Yes sir," Younger Draco replied and he got off the bed. He followed his father out the door and Older Draco stood there watching them until they had disappeared. When they were gone, he sank to the now-vacant bed and said,

"I was lucky to be able to get that book back. I swiped it from the rubbish heap after everyone else had gone to bed."

"Why did you want that book back so bad, Draco?"

"Because I always wanted to have adventures just like Peter. Reading the book made me feel like I could actually touch the sky without a broom, and be able to fight bad guys off."

"What changed for you?"

"I don't know. I guess I grew up a little."

"But you still keep that book in a secret compartment in your trunk."

Draco turned to Kairi open-mouthed and gaped,

"How did you…..?" Then he closed his mouth as a look of understanding spread across his face.

"Right; you're a Spirit so you probably know a lot about me," he sighed, "So what else to you have to show me?"

"Let us look at one more Christmas."

Kairi took his hand again and Draco felt another rush of pleasure as the sensation of flight lifted his body and his mood. They sped off towards another destination, but it was not at Draco's house where they stopped. It appeared to be a little house just outside of London and when Draco saw it, he felt his spirits lift. As Draco stared at the house Kairi said,

"Why Draco, whatever is the matter? You have something on your cheek."

He put his sleeve to his face and said,

"Nothing, just something in my eye."

"You know this place well?"

"Know it? Huh; I didn't think I'd ever see it again."

Suddenly the sight of a child running past him startled Draco. When the boy stopped, Draco saw that it was his ten-year old self and he stopped on the front porch of the little house. Younger Draco adjusted his robes and he squared his shoulders and knocked on the door. A moment later a kindly looking older witch who had a motherly air about her answered it. She looked down and saw Little Draco and remarked,

"Well, bless me, if it isn't young Mr. Malfoy again. Come to call on my daughter again, eh? Well come on in, you little scamp. No sense waiting out in the cold."

Ten-year old Draco hurriedly stepped inside, followed closely by Kairi and Older Draco, and he stamped his feet clear of the snow. When he was finished, the old witch took him into the kitchen and conjured him up a cup of hot chocolate. She made sure he was comfortable and said,

"Wait here a moment and I'll go get Anna."

She left the kitchen and Draco heard her shout,

"Anna! Draco Malfoy is here to see you!"

A younger female voice replied from upstairs,

"He is? I'll be right down!"

At hearing Anna's voice, Older Draco seemed to brighten even further. She came bounding down the steps and passed right by him.

"I'd almost forgotten how pretty she was," he mused. Kairi gave him a little nudge and a wink and said,

"You have good taste."

"Oh, be quiet," he quipped and turned his attention back to the scene before him.

Anna had come to an abrupt stop when she reached Younger Draco and gave him a shy,

"Hi."

Younger Draco returned her greeting and Anna sat in the chair across from him. Her mother conjured a cup of hot chocolate for her as well and bent down to whisper something in her daughter's ear. Anna looked up with an expression of mild annoyance and said,

"I will mum, just let me do it!"

Her mother straightened up and threw them both a quick wink. Then she bustled out of the kitchen with the excuse that she had to go clean something, even though the house was neat as a pin. When her mother was out of the room, Anna turned to Draco and a little blush came over her cheeks.

"So, she began, "Are you…warm enough?"

"Yes, I'm fine," he replied.

They sat in silence for a little while sipping their cocoa when Anna made a noise in her cup that sounded suspiciously like,

"Wangobardyidme?"

Younger Draco appeared inherently confused at this jumble of words, but Older Draco understood them perfectly, and he felt his cheeks begin to burn with the flush that came over them. Under his breath he replied,

"I'd love to."

However, Younger Draco looked up from his cup and asked,

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that. What did you say?"

Anna gave a deep breath and began again in a voice that betrayed nervousness,

"There's a Christmas party at my house tonight. Everyone's going to be there, and I was wondering….would you like to go the party with me?"

Younger Draco seemed to consider it for a moment before replying,

"It would be my pleasure, Anna."

Little Anna blushed her deepest red yet and said with as much grace as she could,

"All right then. Come at eight and be sure to save a dance for me."

"I'll be there on time."

Anna drained her cocoa and walked him to the door. As soon as he was outside she said,

"So…I'll see you at eight then?"

Draco nodded and turned to go, but before he stepped down the first step, Anna said,

"Draco, wait."

He turned back around and asked,

"Yes?"

And before he knew what was going on, Anna wrapped her little arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips. It was short, but it was quite possibly the sweetest kiss that Older Draco had ever remembered receiving. As soon as it was over, Older Draco, Younger Draco and Kairi watched as Anna bound gleefully back into the house and a moment later her faint voice sounded from inside,

"He said 'yes,' mama!"

Seeing his Younger Self in the arms of Anna brought a rush of memories back to Draco's mind and before he could stop it, he felt his cheeks grow hot with tears. It did not go unnoticed by Kairi, who asked,

"Why Draco…whatever is the matter? Are you alright?"

"Hmm? It's nothing; just…..something in my eye."

Kairi placed a hand on his shoulder and said,

"Tears are nothing to be ashamed of, Draco. In fact, they are a good way to cleanse the soul."

"I'm not crying, okay? Just drop it."

Kairi nodded and said,

"Very well; come then. Let's see what happens at eight."

A flurry of snow surrounded them again. When it died down, it was now eight o-clock and ten-year old Draco walked past Older Draco and Kairi again without so much as a glance their way. He looked quite dignified in his second-best dress-robes and carrying a small gift in his hand. He knocked on the door and readjusted the package under his arm. Moments later Anna's mother answered again. She was decked out for the holidays in her Christmas finest. She was wearing a festive red and green dress that was belted at the waist with a white cord, and on her head she was wearing an odd-looking headdress that sported little flying angels and doves and in the center was a fully lit Christmas tree. Older Draco observed the ridiculous get-up and came to the immediate conclusion that Kairi looked much better with her simple holly wreath and white dress. Anna's mother beamed down at his Younger Self and said,

"Why, Draco, twice in one day? This is truly an honor. Well, come in, come in! Anna is waiting for you in the parlor."

"Thank you, ma'am. Oh, I brought you a gift."

"Oh, how kind of you! You didn't have to do that, dear."

However, she accepted the small parcel and Younger Draco made his way into the parlor where he saw Anna. When his eyes lit on her, his jaw just about hit the floor for how pretty she looked. She too was wearing a red gown, but the color and the cut suited her perfectly, and on her head she wore a simple string of false pearls that glimmered in the candlelight. He approached her, gave her a little bow and offered her his arm. She took it and he led her out onto the dance floor. There was a joyous tune playing from enchanted harps, violins and a grand piano and everyone was wheeling about the room and carrying on as though they were having the best time of there lives.

Draco and Anna began wheeling with them and were soon laughing and making up their own little dances (as children sometimes do) and Older Draco couldn't help himself. He hadn't been to a real party in a long time, so he grabbed Kairi's waist in carefree abandon and started dancing with her. The whole time the tune played, Kairi's silvery laughter filled the room and Draco couldn't help but smile and laugh along. Finally, the joyous tune ended and _Silent Night_ began to play inviting everyone to either rest or dance more slowly. Kairi let go of Draco and turned his attention back to the party. He watched his Younger Self waltz with Anna and he saw them whisper things to each other that Draco remembered only too well. When the waltz was over, the wide grin on Draco's face began to fade. He turned to Kairi and asked,

"Can we go now please?"

She replied,

"There is a bit more here that you need to see. Watch."

He felt his heart begin to rip in two as he watched his Younger Self and Anna slip away from the party and go upstairs. Kairi led Draco the way they had gone and caught them in the midst of another kiss. When it was over, Anna took his hand and asked,

"Did you mean it? What you said downstairs?"

"Every word," Draco replied.

"Good. Then can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course."

"And you promise not to tell your dad?"

"I promise I won't tell anyone. What's your secret?"

She hesitated a moment before replying,

"My mom said that even though I'm from a pure-blood family, I won't be able to do magic. Ever. I'm a Squib, Draco."

The adoring look that had been on Younger Draco's face faded and became hard.

"'A Squib?' he repeated, "How can you be a Squib?"

"Draco, please not so loud. My parents didn't want me to tell anyone and if they find out then I'll be in big trouble."

"And if my father ever found out that I'm associating with non-magical blood, even if they're from a pure-blooded family, then I'll be in big trouble."

He looked down at his knees with the beginnings of a sneer forming on his upper lip. After a moment he got up and quietly said,

"This isn't going to work, Anna."

Her lower lip began to tremble and she asked in a quivering voice,

"What are you saying Draco? Do you not want to see me again?"

"I think that's best," he replied and he began walking back downstairs leaving Anna crying softly behind him. He got his cloak and headed home. When he was out the door, Older Draco tried to run after his Younger Self shouting

"Come back here, you jerk, and apologize to her! She didn't do anything to you!"

"These are but shadows of things that have been," said Kairi, "They are what they are and nothing can change them."

Draco turned back to her and demanded,

"Why are you showing me this? What do some of my most painful memories have to do with anything? I really liked that girl and I regret what I did to her everyday."

"Let me ask you something Draco; did you ever tell your father that Anna was a Squib?"

"No, but I still don't understand why you are showing me all this."

Kairi didn't answer but asked him another question,

"Why didn't you ever tell him?"

Draco sat down on the bottom step of the porch and sighed in frustration.

"I told her that I wouldn't tell anyone and a Malfoy never breaks a promise."

"Ahh, but you did break a promise to that little girl, Draco. Out there on the dance floor you told her that if you ever had to part ways, she would always be in your thoughts. When was the last time you even wrote to her?"

Draco's face grew hard again and he sneered. He stood bolt upright and shouted,

"Alright, that's it! Enough! I can't stand this anymore! Take me back to Hogwarts and leave me alone! I've had enough of these pictures from the past!"

"I thought that might be the case. But let me leave you with this, Draco: you cannot deny your Past. The more you try the less you can accept your Future."

"GET OUT OF HERE AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

A sad tear fell from Kairi's eye and snow flurries surrounded Draco one last time. Suddenly he felt himself hurtling backwards. The pleasant feeling of flying was not with him this time and Draco was downright terrified. He tried to reach for his wand, but his hand wouldn't cooperate and he screamed long and loud in terror. He looked down and saw the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts flying at him very fast and he put his hands out in front of him to shield the coming impact. But it never came. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his bed and he was tangled in a mess of sheets and his own nightclothes. His dressing gown was bunched up to his waist, and he was sweating and panting as though he had just run a long way. He glanced around the dark room to make sure nobody was there and finally relaxed.

"Just…..a dream," he remarked and began to chuckle to himself, "It was just a dream! Ha! I knew it!"

He untangled himself from the bed-clothes, closed his eyes and that self-righteous sneer settled back on his lip, but something happened then that quickly wiped it away. The clock-tower began to chime once and then twice and Draco was immediately reminded of his Grandfather's warning. He opened his eye a slit and looked around the room for any other Spirits that might have invaded it. However, all he saw was Goyle sleeping in the adjacent bed snoring like a bear. He tried to convince himself that it was still a dream when the last stroke finished. At its completion, golden light began to creep into the room from up the stairs and into Draco's dorm.


	3. Chapter 3

"Goyle! Goyle do you see that?"

Goyle didn't answer, but kept on snoring away. Suddenly, a voice came from the Common Room. It sounded very much like a young boy's voice and it was laughing. It was not a laugh that was disturbing and made one want to run away, but join in with it; an infectious type of laughter full of joy and happiness. Draco was curious as to what was so funny, but before he said anything he heard,

"Draco Malfoy! Come down here and join me!"

He hesitated not knowing what to think or even knowing what strange creature might be waiting for him when he got down there. It was entirely possible that Peeves was playing a trick on him, but as far as he knew, Peeves never visited the Common Rooms. Did he?

"Draco? Are you coming down here or do I have to come up there?"

"I…..I'm coming," he answered in a small voice.

He threw back the covers and tiptoed his way down the stairs into the Common Room where the most magnificent and queerest sight met his eyes: Food! There was food everywhere in the Slytherin Common Room and it was lit more brightly than it had ever been. Everywhere he looked, golden light illuminated dark corners and nearly every square inch of the floor was covered with all manner of food coming from a giant cornucopia! There were bright orange pumpkins, sunny yellow squashes, potatoes of all kinds, apples that gleamed like rubies, oranges that gave off the most decadent fragrance, ripe berries of every shape and size, grapes that glowed like amethysts, steaming ducks, succulent turkeys, juicy looking whole chickens, whole flagons of any and all manner of drink and some foods that Draco had no name to. And in the midst of it all was a slender boy of about fifteen with very spiky brown hair, the most brilliant blue sapphire eyes that Draco had ever seen and a laughing grin on his face. He was clothed in a robe of deep forest green which was trimmed with what appeared to be white rabbit fur, and at his waist was a belt a couple of inches wide and emblazoned with elaborate tapestry work. Draco eyed the strange boy with both curiosity and disdain and before he cold say anything, the boy opened his arms in a gesture of greeting and said,

"Welcome Draco!"

"Uh…..who are you and what's all this food doing here?"

"I'm Sora: the Spirit of Christmas Present, and all the food that you see before you are the blessings of those who honor and keep Christmas in their hearts, and judging from the amount I'd say that this place is ripe with Christmas Spirit."

"'Sora?' That's the weirdest name I've ever heard in my life."

A look of joy crossed Sora's face and he began laughing again.

"Well, 'Draco's' the weirdest name I've ever heard, so we're I guess we're even."

Draco frowned at this person's blatant lack of respect for him but it just made Sora laugh all the more. However, he did stop laughing for a moment to ask,

"So, Draco, I heard from Christmas Past that you are quite the dancer. You trying to make off with my girl?"

A look of horror crossed Draco's face as he said,

"Kairi's your…..oh no! No, no, no, no, no, I assure you that nothing happened!"

Sora started laughing again irritating Draco even further.

"Relax, dude, I was just kidding. However, I do have another question to ask. Have you seen any of my older brothers around here?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"So, none of my older brothers have been here, so how 'bout any of my younger siblings? Seen any of them lurking in any dark corners?"

"Are you serious? You and Kairi are the only two Spirits I've seen like yourselves! How many brothers do you have anyway?"

Sora smirked again and it seemed as though he just couldn't help himself from guffawing again. He doubled over in laughter and breathed out,

"Over 1800, Draco! I'm surprised that none of them have played any tricks on you!"

"Well unless you count Peeves."

"What's a 'Peeves'?"

"Nevermind. Look can you stop laughing for one minute and tell me what is so dreadfully funny?"

"Why you are! I find mortals very amusing, and you especially make me laugh."

"Glad I can be so amusing, you lousy git."

Sora snorted in laughter again and asked,

"Do you why I am here?"

Draco rolled his eyes a little and replied,

"To show me the error of my ways I suppose."

Sora laughed again, tilting his head back and enjoying himself as though Draco had just told him the best joke he'd ever heard in his life.

"Will you stop laughing for one minute? You're giving me a headache!"

And Sora did stop laughing. However, his smile never went away as he looked back towards Draco. The two locked eyes and Draco saw in them what he could only describe as pity. Sora said,

"No Draco, I have, in fact, come to show you what you are missing."

Sora took a step towards him and Draco had a sudden desire to shrink back from the overly happy boy but an urge to laugh with him as well. He didn't know what to do first, so he chose the former. He took half a step backwards and asked,

"What exactly am I missing?"

Sora just continued smiling and held out his arm.

"Come. Touch my robe and I will take you on a journey the likes of which you have never seen before."

Draco stared at the outstretched arm for a moment before asking,

"And where, exactly, are you taking me?"

It seemed as though Sora was trying to repress another snort of laughter before he replied,

"If it is harm that you are scared of, you needn't be afraid. As with Christmas Past, we shall be unheard and unseen. Come."

Gingerly, Draco stepped forward and stretched out his hand. However before he touched the robe he asked,

"You're sure you won't hurt me?"

Sora gave an encouraging nod and Draco touched the rich green fabric that made up Sora's garment. It was unlike anything that he had ever felt and later he would describe it as being made up of the purest silk spun with light. As soon as he touched the sleeve, the food in the room disappeared and Sora lifted his other arm upward and there appeared in his outstretched hand a giant key! The top of it lit with a brilliant red flame which surrounded the both of them, obscuring Draco's vision of the Common Room. A moment later, the greenish room seemed to be completely engulfed by the scarlet flames and Draco had the sensation that he was being moved somewhere even though he remained in one spot. Finally, the flames died down and he was able to see where this boy had taken him. It took him a moment to recognize the place, but when he got his bearings he saw that Sora had taken him to Diagon Alley. The Alley was unusually crowded today and even stranger still, it was daytime! Draco turned to Sora and asked in surprise,

"What is this? It was nighttime when we left!"

"Don't you know? It's Christmas morning!" Sora answered his voice full of laughter and joy.

The invisible pair walked down the length of the Alley for a short way, and Draco observed several witches and wizards going in and out of shops with looks on their faces that mirrored Sora's. Sometimes, Sora would lead Draco into a shop where there were particularly shady looking characters and he would take his key and something like a beam of golden light would shoot from it into the hearts of those poor, unfortunate souls. As soon as this happened, their faces would immediately brighten and they would start singing Christmas Carols or start cavorting about as though they were having the best time of their lives. Several times Sora did this, and Draco's curiosity finally got the better of him.

"Why are you doing that?" he asked.

"The Spirit of Christmas in not just for the very rich or moderately well-off. On this day, especially, those who are poor in spirit deserve to be blessed with a little joy and cheer."

They walked a little further and after a while Draco observed to Sora,

"There sure is a lot going on today. I don't think I've ever seen Diagon Alley this busy. What is everyone buying?"

"Buying, purchasing, wanting…is that all you see here, Draco?"

"Well, what am I supposed to be seeing?"

"Why are all these people shopping?"

"To buy things, I guess."

"That's true, but are they buying things for themselves?"

"No, you buy things for other people at Christmas."

"Exactly. What you are witnessing here is selflessness and love."

"Wait, I don't understand. How can buying a gift for someone else be selfless? You're still spending money."

"Have you had your eyes closed the whole time? Open them up and look around, Draco. It's not the gift; it's the act of giving the gift. What it is and how much you spend on it does not matter. I'll show you."

Sora led them into a small house and pointed out a little girl.

"Watch her and see what she does," he said.

The little girl had her back to them and appeared to be hard at work at something. A moment later she got up off the floor and ran into the kitchen shouting,

"Mommy, look what I made for you!"

Draco peeked over the mother's shoulder to see what it was her daughter had spent so much time and effort on. It turned out to be nothing more than an orange filled with cloves. Nonetheless, the mother beamed at her daughter, took the fragrant-smelling fruit from her and exclaimed,

"Oh, Alexandra! This is going to make the house smell so good for the party tonight! Come on; let's go put it where everyone can see it."

Mother and daughter left the room leaving an invisible Sora and Draco behind. Draco had a baffled look on his face and said,

"I don't get it. It was just a rotten piece of fruit. Why would anyone find value in that?"

"There are some things that are more valuable than money, Draco," Sora replied. Suddenly, he glanced up at the clock on the wall and said,

"Oop! We gotta go! Take my sleeve again, Draco. There is somewhere else we need to be."

Draco, though still feeling baffled, grabbed the pleasant-feeling fabric again and saw Sora lift his strange key to the sky and the end of it erupted in those brilliant flames which engulfed them again, and Draco was once again taken by the sensation that he was moving even though he was standing perfectly still. When the flames died down again, they found themselves at St. Mungo's Hospital."

"The hospital? What's so special about the hospital?"

"It's not the hospital; it's who's in there."

"Who's in there?"

Sora just smiled and looked as though he was on the verge of laughing again, but he led Draco inside to a little room at the end of a long hall up on the third floor. Within the room was a contingent of nine people, all with bright, tomato-red hair.

"The Weasley's?" Draco exclaimed, "Their whole family is blood-traitor!"

And for the first time, the smile left Sora's face and was replaced by a look of fury. He rounded on Draco and it seemed that the fire that had come from the key had suddenly appeared the Spirit's eyes and it scared him.

"This family is probably worthy of more mercy and charity than your family will ever be, Draco," Sora said in a dangerously calm voice, "Say anything about their so-called 'Blood Status' again, and it will be the last time you ever do."

Hastily, Draco nodded and turned his attention back to the family in front of him. The first to speak was one of the twins with whom Draco was well acquainted with thanks to their many matches on the Quidditch field.

"So, how you feeling today Ginny," he inquired.

"I'm feeling well today George. Thanks for asking."

"I'm not George."

"Oh, sorry Fred."

He exchanged a mischievous look with his twin before replying,

"Just kidding, I am George!"

Ginny raised a fist and smacked him good and hard on the arm, but it seemed to take a lot out of her when she did. She went a little pale in the face and lay back on her pillow and Mrs. Weasley admonished her son,

"Stop it George! You're going to make her even sicker!"

"It was just a joke, Mum."

"I don't care! Don't provoke your sister!"

George looked down, chastened, and replied,

"Yes, Mum."

Mrs. Weasley continued yelling at George for a moment, but stopped when she saw that Ginny had fallen asleep.

"All right, everyone," said Mr. Weasley, "I think Ginny's had enough for one day so let's leave her alone and let her rest."

They all paid attention to their father, and left the room. When they had all gone, one of the older Weasley boys, a shorter stocky young man with long hair, turned to a tall, lankier version of himself and asked a very candid question,

"How long you reckon she has for this world, Ron?"

"How should I know Bill? I'm not a Healer! I'm going to get something to drink."

Ron departed the rest of the family and Draco watched him go. When he disappeared around the corner, he asked Sora,

"What's wrong with his sister? Why is she dying?

Sora, though no longer looking vengeful, had a shadow of anger cross his brow.

"The cause of her illness lies with your father."

"M…my father?"

"Yes; he placed a cursed book in her cauldron her first year at school and now she suffers from a curse that is slowly draining her life away."

Then something happened that Draco was not expecting. A figure walked right past him that he knew only too well. A skinny boy with dark hair walked into the room.

As the boy walked past them, Draco turned to Sora and asked,

"What's Potter doing here?"

"Shh; watch."

Draco turned his attention back to Harry and Ginny and he watched as Harry gently took her hand and called her name,

"Ginny? Are you awake?"

"Hmm? Oh, Harry; it's you!"

Ginny sat upright in bed and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so happy to see you! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, you're whole family is over here, and it just seemed right for me to be here too; especially on Christmas Day."

"Harry this is the best Christmas gift anyone could have ever given me. I have my family here, and I have one of my dearest friends in the whole world here."

Just then, Ron and a few other members of the Weasley family walked back into the room, all bearing a few gifts. When Ron got sight of Harry he exclaimed,

"Harry! I didn't know you were coming today!"

"I wanted to surprise you all. Besides I have presents for everyone."

He reached into a trunk that he had brought with him and gave everyone the gifts that he had gotten them. He gave everyone several assorted bunches of candy from Honeydukes, to Ron he gave an autographed poster of the Chudley Canons, To Bill, he gave a nice pair of scales (he had mentioned his were getting old and worn), Charlie got a new pair of Dragon-hide gloves which he gratefully accepted.

"You can never have too many of these in my line of work, and this is a good brand. Thanks mate!"

Harry didn't know what to get for Percy, so he just got him a new set of quills and an inkpot, to Fred and George he gave a few Muggle magic tricks that involved cards and coins. They figured them out immediately, but they ranted and raved over them nonetheless. To Mr. Weasley he gave a whole set of plugs which he accepted with glee and began showing them off to everyone who would pay attention. Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes at her husband's foolishness, but then she began to act much in the same way when she got a brand new copper-bottomed pot that she had been eyeing for the last year. When all the presents had been passed out, the Weasleys then gave each other their own presents. Ron, of course, got another maroon sweater with a large yellow "R" on it, and all the other Weasley brood got sweaters, all of them with the first letter of their name on it. A few more gifts and trinkets were passed around and but when Ginny fell back on her pillow again, Mrs. Weasley began shuffling everyone out of the room. However, Harry asked,

"May I stay behind for a moment? I didn't get a chance to give Ginny her present yet."

"Well, I suppose dear. But make it quick; she needs her rest."

Harry nodded and walked back into the room. Ginny opened her eyes when she sensed someone in there with her and when she saw Harry, she asked,

"Did you forget something?"

"Yeah, I didn't give you your gift."

"I was wondering about that. I thought you might have forgotten me."

"No, but your gift is…well, it's kind of…special."

Harry raised he wand and tapped one of the metal rods suspended above her bed and said,

"_Pollinati_," and from the rod grew a familiar plant with red berries.

"Mistletoe?" Ginny asked, "What do potions ingredients have to do with anything?"

"Well, it's kind of a Muggle tradition. If two people kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas, it's rumored that they'll be in love forever."

"Harry, what are you…..oh. Well, (ahem) I guess that would be alright."

Harry nodded his head and leaned into her. Ginny inclined her head towards his and their lips met. As they kissed the mistletoe over them blossomed even further and a shower of red and green came from it and covered them with light. As Draco watched Harry and Ginny kiss, he felt something stir inside his chest. He didn't know what it was, but it kind of hurt. He turned to Sora and asked,

"Is she really going to die? Can't anything be done?"

Sora closed his eyes and after a moment, he opened them back up and sadly replied,

"I see an empty place at a table. There are only eight people instead of nine, and on the mantle is an abandoned wand, carefully preserved, but it will never be used again in reverence of its owner."

Draco turned back to Harry and Ginny and he felt that pang grow even stronger.

"Sora, no; please say she'll be okay."

"I am sorry, but if these visions remain unchanged, then Ginny Weasley will no longer walk amongst the school halls as a living human being. Why do you care anyway? Wouldn't it be better if she went ahead and died so that you don't have to look at her stupid, blood-traitor face anymore?"

Draco whipped around with his mouth agape and said in a small voice,

"Why would you say that?"

"Hurts? Doesn't it?"

Draco's eyes fell in shame.

"Yes."

"Then in the future, perhaps you will learn to mind your words and realize that in the sight of heaven, you, with all your talk of your pure-blood status, may be less worthy to live than millions like this poor girl you see dying."

Draco nodded his head and said,

"I'll remember."

"I'm glad. Now, I have one more place to show you before I part ways with you. Come: take hold of my sleeve again."

Draco buried his hand into the rich fabric of Sora's sleeve, and once again Sora lifted his key to the sky and those brilliant red flames enveloped them and Harry, Ginny and the hospital room were obscured from his vision and then disappeared behind a wall of flame altogether. When the flames died down, Draco saw that Sora had taken him back to Hogwarts, but this was not the Slytherin Common Room. He looked around and asked,

"Uh, Sora? Where are we?"

"You've never been to this part of the castle before? This is the Gryffindor Common Room."

"Why take me here?"

"There's a party going on."

"Another party? Oh great."

"Shut up and watch."

Draco gave Sora a sneer, but turned his attention to the people in front of him. A fourth year girl was talking with a second-year boy and she was asking with a hint of admiration in her voice,

"Are you serious, Thomas?"

"As the plague," he replied.

"Hey!" Draco exclaimed, "That's the little runt who tried to invite me to have Christmas dinner at the Gryffindor table! I wonder why….."

But a sharp rap on the head from an oversized key silenced him immediately. He whipped around and raised his fist at Sora and threatened,

"Do that again, and I'll deck you!"

Sora just stuck his tongue out at him and Draco was getting ready to make good on his threat when a cheer from the small contingent of Gryffindors distracted him.

"Let's play a game!" the fourth year girl who had been speaking to Thomas shouted.

"Great! What game?" asked Thomas.

"Let's play charades!"

"I love that game! Who wants to be 'it' first?"

"You should be 'it' Thomas, "replied the fourth-year girl.

"Yeah," piped up a second year girl, "You should go first seeing as how you're the bravest of us all."

"Well, if you all insist."

Thomas stood up and said,

"Okay, can you guess who I am?"

"Duh, you're Thomas," said a sleepy voice. Everyone looked up to see whom the voice belonged to, and none other than Neville Longbottom was looking up from a comfy looking chair with obvious signs of sleep in his eyes.

Sora let out another round of hearty laughter while Draco just rolled his eyes.

"Well, yes, I am indeed, but we're playing charades. Can you guess who I'm trying to be?"

"Oh, I love that game!" Neville cried springing awake, "Okay, I'll bite. Who are you?"

Thomas gave a sly grin to everyone around him and then hunched over scratching his armpits and making hooting and walking in a stunted way that is indicative of a gorilla.

"You're a gorilla!" the fourth-year girl shrieked. Thomas shook his head indicating that she had guessed wrong and tried something else. He pulled his wand out of his robes and stared at it like he hadn't a clue what it was. He then continued walking around like a gorilla and began rapping himself gently over the head with his wand. Unseen by all the Gryffindors, and inspite of himself, Draco doubled over in laughter at the boy's gestures and shrieked,

"He looks like Goyle!" he howled in laughter and doubled over again. Sora joined in with him and his laugh carried over everyone's. It was truly a sight to behold. Finally Neville shouted,

"Oooo! Oooo! I know! You're Goyle!"

Thomas touched his finger to the tip of his nose and pointed at Neville indicating that he had guessed correctly.

"Well done, Neville!" cried the fourth-year girl, "Now you're 'it'!"

Thomas sat down and Neville got up with a round of applause cheering him on. He thought for a moment and then a look of knowledge dawned on his face. He turned to the little group and said,

"Okay, who am I?"

The smile disappeared off Neville's face and his upper lip curled up into a magnificent sneer. He puffed up his chest and began to strut around as though he owned the tower. The small group began to laugh and the second-year girl guessed,

"Uh…..Professor Snape?"

At his name, a vague look of fear passed through Neville's eyes and they darted around the room as though the intimidating man might be around the next corner. However, it was over in a flash and he shook his head. He then slicked his hair back, thrust his thumbs into the lapels of his dressing gown and began strutting around the room again.

"Duh, he's Draco Malfoy," said the fourth-year girl, "There's only one little git who struts around the castle like he owns the place."

The Gryffindors (and Sora) dissolved into gales of laughter again, but Draco was not in their ranks. He turned to Sora, who was still enjoying a hearty laugh and furiously demanded,

"Hey! Is this what the Gryffindors do all day? Make fun of me?"

"Well," said Sora as he tried to compose himself, "Didn't I tell you that you were amusing?"

"I don't want to be amusing! Especially if it means giving Gryffindor a good laugh!"

Sora snorted in laughter and doubled over again.

"What is so bloody funny?" Draco forcefully demanded.

Sora smiled at him and replied,

"I'll show you."

He lifted his key again and a jet of light shot from the end of it. However, this time it was a beam of bright blue that came from it, and before Draco could step out of the way, it penetrated the skin over his heart and disappeared.

"Hey! What did you…?"

His face became bewildered, then amused, and before he could stop himself, he was laughing too.

"Now then, what are you laughing at Draco?"

"M….m…..me! Hahahahahaha! I was just remembering the time I tried to turn a porcupine into a pincushion and I turned it into a sink instead! Hahahaha! You should have seen the look on McGonagall's face! She was furious!"

"Then you have learned to laugh at yourself. It's a good feeling to know that you can make others laugh, isn't it?"

"Y…yeah; I guess."

"Good. I am sorry, but we are running out of time and I have one final place to take you before we say goodbye."

Draco wiped a tear that had appeared on his cheek from the hard laughter that he had just enjoyed.

"Where to?" he asked

"Take hold of my sleeve."

Draco did as he was told and as the scarlet flames enveloped them, he heard Thomas remark,

"Wouldn't it be great if we could have a Merry Christmas at the school this year instead of fighting all the time?"

He heard the murmurs of agreement as the flames completely enclosed them, and then they were gone as Draco felt himself move again. When the flames dissolved, he saw that Sora had taken him to a rather…shady place. At least 'shady' was the word that popped into Draco's brain. He could tell that it was Knockturn Alley, but it was a section that he had never seen before.

"Sora? Where are we? Where did you take me?"

"Just a place; like many in this world."

"What place?"

"Oh, don't worry about the name. Rather, I would like you to look over there."

Sora pointed to a dark corner with his key and it illuminated what he wanted Draco to see. Draco turned his head to the corner and he saw a little girl huddling there holding out a basket that contained a few coins and pieces of trash.

"Sora; who is she?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because…she's just a kid."

"She's a Muggle-born who lost her parents to the Dark Lord. She ran away and has hidden from the world ever since. Nobody knows, or really even cares that she is here though."

"Why? What's wrong with people? Can't they see this poor girl?"

"Oh, they see her; they just pretend not to. They feel as though she cannot go to the brighter places of the world because she is unworthy."

"But…."

Then Draco looked down at Sora's feet and saw something that he hadn't noticed before sticking out from under his long robe and it grabbed his attention.

"Sora? What is that down at your feet? It looks like a claw."

Sora looked down and said,

"It could be a claw for the amount of flesh on it. Look here."

Sora parted his rich green robe and there, clinging to his legs were two small children. They were dirty, entirely too skinny, clothed in rags, and whatever traces of innocence that might have been there were wiped away leaving devils with evil red eyes instead of the angelic charm that all children have. They frightened Draco and he turned away from them.

"Look Draco! I said look!" Sora said in a voice that Draco did not like. He immediately decided that he much preferred the jovial Sora to this angry one, for this Sora was scary and had a presence about him that was almost sinister. Reluctantly, Draco turned back around and tried to keep his eyes on the Spirit, but they were inexorably drawn to the two horrible monsters clinging to him.

"Sora…..what are they?"

"Are they strange to you? These are the children of men. In fact, they are the children of all who would deny their existence. The boy's name is Ignorance and the girl is Want. Look upon them and remember them, for they are the doom of mankind."

"Why show them to me, and why do you keep such terrible creatures close to you?"

Sora laughed again, but it was not the fun-loving laugh full of mirth that had annoyed Draco all night. No, this laugh was bone-chillingly eerie and had an air of malevolence about it. Worst of all, though, Draco had the distinct feeling that Sora was laughing at _him._

"Why do you think I showed them to you Draco? These are YOUR children! Heartless creatures born from the darkness in people's hearts and they cling to me to feel some kind of light in the world."

Draco felt the color drain from his face and Ignorance looked up at him and spoke a single word that made Draco quake in fear and want to run screaming into the night.

"Papa?"

He pointed a bony finger at Draco and looked up at Sora for confirmation.

"Yes, that is your father," Sora replied.

"NO!" Draco cried, "COVER THEM! COVER THEM, PLEASE!"

"I thought that might be the case."

Sora lowered his robes to cover the monstrous children and Draco felt as though he could breathe a little easier.

"They are covered, but they still live."

He looked up at the starless sky and said in that voice that had become chilling,

"Whelp, my time is up; see you later."

"But aren't you going to take me home?"

"'Home?' Why should I take you home?"

"This place is strange; I don't know where I am. Please don't leave me."

Sora tilted his head back and began to laugh in a jovial way again. He pointed his strange key up to the sky and those brilliant red flames surrounded him and illuminated every dark corner of the Alley. Draco heard the happy laughter through the flames and then listened to them echo around the walls as they disappeared into the night. When the last of the echo's had stopped bouncing around and Draco was once again shrouded in darkness, he noticed that the little girl Sora had shown him a moment ago was gone and he was completely and utterly alone. He looked around and called out,

"Hello?" but his voice sounded small and frightened.

"Is anyone there? Hello?"

There was no reply.

"I need help! Someone please help me!"

Nothing. The only response was the sound of his own voice being echoed back to him. Draco sat down and leaned up again a dirty wall, and for the first time in a long time, he began to cry.

"What have I done to be abandoned like this? Sora, please come back! Kairi! Anyone! Don't leave me like this! Please!"

He dissolved into tears and the clock began to chime.

* * *

><p>Can anyone see the obvious Disney reference? It is Sora after all, and it wouldn't be a proper KH fic without a dash of Disney. An imaginary cookie to whoever can guess.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. The distant clocked cried out its haunting message that the final hour had struck, but Draco barely heard it. His knees remained drawn up to his chest and his head was still buried in his arms. He silently asked the night,

"What do I do now?"

And something answered him. Through his closed eyes he sensed that something was there with him and he looked up, but what he saw frightened him more than anything than he had witnessed that night. There in front of him stood a tall figure robed in black, and it was not the kind of black that made up the robes of his uniform. No, the black that this figure was clothed in reminded Draco somewhat of a dementor. The hood of its cloak was up, shrouding its face, and the cloak itself was split at the waist revealing solid black trousers and black boots that were making no imprint in the snow. Even the hands that protruded from the long cloak's sleeves were covered in black gloves. The only thing that betrayed any kind of life to this thing was a few strands of silver hair peeking out from beneath the hood. Draco shrank back against the wall and felt a scream hitch in his throat. All he managed to make was some sort of weird hooting sound that came out in more of a gasp than anything. For a moment, he and the Spirit stared at each other and Draco finally asked in a quavering voice,

"A…are you…the Spirit of Christmas…..Future?"

The thing nodded its head once in a slow languid way that sent another shiver of fright through Draco. He continued sitting there, looking up at it until he finally managed to get out,

"I…..I'm really s…..scared of you; but I guess…..I have to go with you. Right?"

The Spirit nodded its head again and continued standing there.

"O….okay. Just…..promise not to…..hurt me or anything."

A third, single slow nod and the Spirit of Christmas Future extended a hand towards the crumpled boy to help him up. Draco took the outreached had and was surprised that, through the glove, it felt alarmingly human. When he had gotten to his feet, the Spirit began to lead him through the Alley. Every step he took next to this Thing seemed, to Draco, more menacing than the other two Spirits or even the Spirit of his late Grandfather.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked.

The Spirit didn't say anything, but pointed somewhere. Draco followed the finger and saw that the Spirit was indicating the door of an empty shop. He walked up to it and asked,

"So I just go in?"

The Spirit said nothing but continued pointing at the door. Draco felt a thrill of fear go through him, but he still raised his hand and went to push the door open. However, his hand went right through it and he quickly pulled it back as though it had been burned. He turned to the Spirit and exclaimed,

"Am I still invisible?"

Another slow nod was all the reply he got. Draco rolled his eyes and squared his shoulders…and walked right through the solid wooden door. Once inside, he looked around, but saw naught but an empty room. He turned to the Spirit, who had followed him, and asked,

"What now?"

It pointed towards the fireplace, and, at once, the brick that made up the back wall disappeared and gave way to what looked like a window to the outside. The Spirit never stopped pointing at it, so Draco took it to mean that he was to walk through it. Without a word, he did so and suddenly found himself in a snow-covered cul-de-sac in a place he didn't recognize. However, it looked like he was back in London and the Spirit pointed at a house that was sandwiched between two other houses. Draco walked up to it and read the address,

"Number 12, Grimmauld Place? What's here that's so important?"

The Spirit, leaving no imprint in the snow even though a heavy blanket had fallen, walked up beside him and pointed him to the front door.

"You want me to go inside?" he asked.

The Spirit just kept on with that insistent pointing, so Draco went up to the front door and put his hand through that door as well. However, he did not pull it back this time, and just walked right on through the thick wood. He walked through the hallway until he got to something like a sitting room. There were a couple of people sitting in some armchairs in front of a small fire that had been built in the ornate fireplace, but Draco didn't know who they were, as they had their backs to him. However, he could have sworn he recognized some of their voices. One of them, a male voice that sounded tired and gray asked,

"So when did he die?"

"Erm….last night? Night before last, maybe?" replied a gruff voice.

"Well, either way Mad-Eye, I don't think I'll be going to that funeral."

"Oh, come now, Lupin; you should go. I'm going after all."

"The only reason you're going is because you hope to catch a few more Death Eaters. We all know what a big supporter his family was of You-Know-Who, and ever since his father died, he took over a lot of the work."

"That's not the only reason. He ostracized himself from everyone he ever cared about and died pretty alone in the world. I wouldn't wish that fate on my worst enemy."

"He _was _one of our worst enemies. Oh, but you're right; I suppose I should go as well. If nothing else, I can at least find some closure in knowing that the one who killed my wife and son is finally dead."

"That's the spirit, Lupin! And who knows; we might just be able to find a couple more Death Eaters and bring them down."

Lupin and Mad-Eye got up from their chairs and shook hands.

"I truly hope so, my friend. I really do."

The two left the room and walked out the front door leaving a confused Draco and a black-shrouded Spirit behind them. Draco turned to the Spirit and said,

"This dead bloke sounds pretty bad when he was alive. Did he really cause that much suffering?"

The Spirit just stood there. It didn't nod; shake its head or anything. It just stood there looking completely impassive. Draco, now past his initial fright, began to get irritated. He asked,

"Did this guy do anything good with his life? Doesn't anyone feel anything for him now that he's dead? Can you show me some depth of feeling for him?"

The Spirit lifted his hand and pointed towards the fireplace whose embers had begun to die. Another window opened in the brick, but this time it did not lead to the outside. Draco and the Spirit walked through the fireplace and into a place that Draco immediately knew he didn't like. This place was in desperate need of a good cleansing and the only light that it offered was a couple of candles and a small dying fire in the fireplace that they had just come through.

"Where are we?" he asked.

The Spirit pointed at a bent old woman huddling on the floor, going through a sack of some kind. Draco looked at her and screwed up his face trying to remember where he had seen her before. Then it dawned on him.

"Nanny…Violet?" he exclaimed.

It was her all right. She was much older, but it was her nonetheless. The years had not been kind to her either. She had developed several liver spots all over her hands and arms, her face was now sporting moles of all shapes and sizes, and an oversized wart was sprouting from her cheek and had a long black hair growing from it. Draco rushed in front of her to see what she was going through, and to his horror he recognized all of his things: his robes, his spell books, his cauldron, his wand, and lastly his beloved copy of _Peter Pan_.

"What are you doing with that? Give me back my book!"

He made a grab for it, but his hand passed right through the pages as though it were made of nothing. All he could do was watch and seethe in anger as this hateful woman rifled through his stuff. Then he heard someone call her name,

"Violet Grabeele?"

"Here!" she said gruffly.

The old woman got up from the filthy floor and went behind an old moth-eaten curtain, and Draco closely followed. The sight that met his eyes was one of severe horror! Nearly everything his family owned was in there, and sitting on a pile of sheets and clothing that had been stolen from his house was sitting a little old man who looked dirty, dingy, and shady.

"Ahh, my dear!" the man squeaked out, "How nice of you to come and see me!"

"I ain't here for you, Mundungus Fletcher! I just want to see what I can get for these things."

Her voice was exactly as Draco remembered it: high, shrill and unpleasant. He watched helplessly as this dirty man handled his finely made robes and mutter under his rancid breath. Finally he looked up at Violet and asked,

"Whatchoo wanna sell the boy's things for?"

"He went through my things plenty of times. I figure its payback. What's he gonna do about it?"

"Oh, well, who am I to argue with a lady? You know, Miss Violet, I've always found you to be a rather…. (ahem) handsome woman and I was hoping….."

"Just tell me what they're worth, Mundungus!"

"Oh, very well. Let's see here; clothes, a cauldron, a used wand, a few good sheets and an old copy of a Muggle children's book."

"That book was owned by the last member of one of the oldest pure-blood wizarding families left in Britain, mind you."

"Right, right. The lot should come to…..erm…Fifteen Sickles and five Knuts."

"You're a thief, you know that?"

"How else would I stay in business, my dear? I have to find the best deals."

"Yeah, best for you."

"I might be persuaded to raise my price if you were to let me buy you a mug of ale. What do you say?"

The two dissolved into an argument over the possessions and Violet's liver-spotted hand, and Draco couldn't stand the haggling any more. He blocked their incessant prattle from his ears and turned to the Spirit.

"This is it? This is all that this person is remembered by? Where's the compassion? Doesn't anyone feel sorry that he's gone? Let me see some kind of sympathy for this death!"

The Spirit pointed back towards the fireplace and another window appeared there. Draco hurriedly walked through it, desperately wanting someone to feel bad for this dead person because he had a sneaking suspicion who it was. He walked into a rather different scene this time. Before him was a decidedly cleaner place than the previous hovel he had just come from. It was not richly decorated and there were no servants around that Draco was used to seeing. However, there was a large family that all had bright red hair.

"The Weasley's again? What are we doing here? This is ridiculous! I'm out of here!"

He turned back toward the fireplace and tried to walk through, but the Spirit stepped in front of him, halting his progress. It then pointed back at the family and Draco had no choice but to obey.

"Fine! You're really hard to talk to, ya know?"

Draco turned around to look at the family again and saw a very quiet and somber atmosphere. One of the older kids was sitting in front of a roaring fire, which Draco had just come through, reading a book about dragons, while the twins were simply staring into space.

"What's the matter with them?" Draco asked indicating to the twins, "They're usually not so….depressed."

There was no reply, just that pointing finger. Draco rolled his eyes in frustration and turned back to them. Nobody was saying anything to each other until a lady, their mother, walked in and began handing out chores.

"Alright, everyone, I need your help around here. Charlie, put down that book and go sweep the front porch. Fred? George? I need you to go and degnome the garden again. Those little pests are going to ruin the cabbages. Bill and Percy? Please go and empty the trash and when you are done with that, I need you both to come help me in the kitchen.

Without a word everyone went straight to their assigned chores. Mrs. Weasley, having given her brood something to do, began bustling around the kitchen, scrubbing pots and pans that were already gleaming and checking on the fire which would obviously not go out for quite some time. Then Draco heard the sounds of greeting from further up in the house and a man walked into the kitchen flanked by the kids that had just left.

"Hello Molly," he said somberly.

"Hello Arthur. How was work today?"

"Well, we had a spot of trouble with those Belching Bathtubs again. I swear, someone is intent on frightening those poor Muggles to death."

"Oh; I'm sorry, dear. Come and sit by the fire and get warm. It's freezing out there."

Arthur sat in a chair by the fire while Molly continued bustling around the kitchen doing meaningless tasks and checking on dinner until it was done. When everything had been completed to her satisfaction, she stuck her head out the back door and called the twins in, and then she called in the rest of the children. Almost silently, everyone began shuffling into kitchen and Draco remarked,

"This is not how I pictured this family at home; especially those two," he indicated to the twins.

The Spirit just pointed his attention back to the family, who had all arrived, and sat down to dinner. They ate in utter silence for a while before one of the twins asked,

"Where are Ron and Harry? Shouldn't they be here too?"

"They owled me and said they were running a little late and asked us not to wait. They wanted to pick up Hermione and do something else, but they didn't say."

Just then the door opened and the aforementioned trio walked in. Mrs. Weasley went into an immediate overprotective state of the three individuals and began behave like any mother would.

"Harry, dear, come in out of that cold. You too, Ron. Hermione, give me your cloaks and I'll go put them away."

She whisked their cloaks off them and they sat down at the table. Draco watched with little interest as everyone sat down, but then he noticed that something was amiss. Or rather: someone.

"Spirit? Where's Ginny? Why isn't she here?"

The Spirit gave no reply, but pointed to the mantle where Draco saw a carefully polished wand mounted under a gleaming wooden plaque that bore a picture of Ginny. In the photo she was laughing and smiling, but under it bore the words,

"_In loving memory of our only daughter. May she rest in peace_."

Draco stood there in shock. He knew that she was dying, but this was too much.

"Spirit, no. She can't be dead."

He turned to the cloaked Spirit and looked for any sign of life, remorse, just any kind of feeling from this Thing, but it remained as impassive as ever. It pointed back to the family at the table, and then someone spoke.

"We went by there toady. The three of us."

Mrs. Weasley looked up and found the owner of the voice to be Harry.

"Did you? Is that why you were running late, dear?"

Harry nodded and continued,

"There was something that I had to leave for her there."

"What did you have to leave for her?"

"I left a note. Every time go and see her, I want to be able to read it, so I placed a permanent sticking charm and a weather-repellant charm on it so it won't weather away or blow away and everything. I hope that was okay with you."

Harry buried his nose into his food because his voice had begun to break a little.

"Oh, Harry!" cried Hermione.

She got up from her chair and wrapped her arms around him and Mrs. Weasley did the same thing. Tears flowed shamelessly from the three of them while everyone else just sniffed a little. Draco sensed himself drowning. He couldn't escape this flood of emotions. He couldn't speak, he couldn't even move. All he could do was watch everyone try to comfort each other.

"Spirit…..is there anything you can do?"

His reply was that insistent pointing. Draco turned to the Spirit feeling angry and said,

"Alright, listen you! These people obviously feel some kind of grief for their daughter, but what about that other dead person? What about him? Doesn't he deserve some kind of feeling too? Can't I see some kind of remorse for that person's death?"

The Spirit firmly pointed at the family, indicating that they were not quite done there. Draco groaned in frustration and turned back to them. The crying had stopped and Ron asked Harry,

"You loved her, didn't you?"

"(sniff) With everything I have in me."

There was much sniffing and then Mr. Weasley broke the silence by saying,

"Now, now everyone; we must find some way to be cheerful. Ginny wouldn't want to see us grieving like this. You know what she would say if she were here? She would tell us all that she wants us to be happy and that she is somewhere safe and waiting for us all."

Fred and George popped their head up and Fred said,

"You know, he's right. Ginny would still want us to have a Merry Christmas. So in the spirit of the season and in Ginny's memory…Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you care for a chocolate?"

Harry knew that candy from the Weasley twins usually led to no good, but at that point he didn't care.

"Oh, why not," he said and took the piece of chocolate.

He popped it into his mouth and said,

"Hey this isn't…HEY!"

His voice had changed into a high squeak as though he had just inhaled a bunch of helium. Fred and George doubled over in laughter at the sound of his voice and shouted,

"Chipmunk Chocolates! Guaranteed to make your voice sound higher than you ever though possible!"

At the sound of his chipmunk voice, the entire family burst into gales of laughter. Ron was a few inches from rolling on the floor while Fred and George high-fived and shouted,

"Success!" in unison.

Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley found Harry's new voice quite comical. The effect wore off after a moment and then everyone wanted a go at them. Soon the house was filled with high, chipmunk laughter and a little joy, even though a shadow of despair still seemed to remain. Draco sighed and once more turned his attention away from the family and asked,

"Now can you show me some feeling to do with that other person's death?"

Almost imperceptibly, the Spirit nodded and pointed a black-gloved finger back at the fireplace. The brick opened into a doorway and Draco walked through just as Mr. Weasley offered a toast.

"To Ginny! May we be fortunate enough to see her smiling face in the next life. I know we will never forget her. God bless us all."

"To Ginny and God bless us all!" was the rousing cry that went up from the table, and Draco and the Spirit walked through the doorway in the fireplace and into a place Draco had never seen before.


	5. Chapter 5

He was standing outside in the middle of a blizzard and the Spirit was close by him. He wrapped his arms around himself to try and keep the cold out, but it did little good. He turned to the Spirit and asked,

"Where am I now," he shouted above the wind, "Where did you take me?"

The Spirit lifted a hand and pointed above Draco's head and a sign was illuminated.

_**Godric's Hollow Cemetery **_

"A graveyard? Why a graveyard? Is that girl buried here?"

The Spirit pointed into the gate guarding the cemetery indicating that it wanted Draco to go in. He didn't want to. Oh, how he didn't want to, but he had no choice. He walked through the gate and immediately the black shapes of headstones began peaking through the blanket of white falling from the sky. The Spirit was a dark shadow and was easy to follow as it lead him through the gravestones. Even so, Draco had to look down so that he wouldn't trip over a stone that might be partially hidden in the snow. He concentrated so hard on the ground that he nearly ran into a large marker. There in front of him was a statue that bore three figures and a name that was quite familiar,

_Lilly Potter James Potter_

_March 14, 1971 July 30, 1972 _

_October 31, 1981 October 31, 1981_

_The last thing to die is death _

Potter's parents. Eh, whatever. He continued walking, letting the Spirit guide him, but he saw another name that caught his attention.

_Ginny Weasley_

He had no real interest in the dates, but what really peaked his interest was a note that was stuck to the stone. His curiosity got the better of him and he bent down to read it.

"_Dear Ginny,_

_Even though you cannot read this, I hope you know how much you meant to me. There was hardly ever a day that went by that you weren't in my thoughts and you are still in them. I will never forget you and I will make sure that every Gryffindor remembers you. I need to know something: did you love me? I'm going to leave this note here so that, if by some miracle, you find a way of answering, I'll know. I love you Ginny Weasley. Sleep well."_

_Harry Potter_

Draco finished reading the note and felt a strange mix of emotions. The thought of,

"What a stupid thing to do," entered his mind, but it was quickly pushed away as the memory of Anna filled it and he was reminded of how he had treated her the last time he had seen her. He read the note once more, looked up at the Spirit and asked,

"Is this what you wanted to show me?"

One slow shake of the head was his only reply and it pointed forward. Draco got up and began walking in the direction that the Spirit was indicating. They walked a little further until they came to the back of the lot and there in front of them stood a rather ornately carved tomb that bore several names and at the top was chiseled out a stately "M." Draco turned to the Spirit and asked,

"Spirit, before I start reading the names on that tomb, I have to know something. Are these visions that you are showing me what must be or things that might not happen at all? After all, if a course is changed in the present, then the future changes with it, right?"

The Spirit remained mute and pointed at the tomb again, this time almost angrily. Draco sensed the Spirit's impatience and he turned his eyes back to the tomb and began reading. At first the names were unfamiliar, but towards the bottom he began to recognize them.

"Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and lastly: Draco Malfoy."

That last one really caught his attention.

"Draco Malfoy? Me? That…..that can't be me. That's not me."

He turned back to the Spirit and begged,

"Please tell me that that's not me!"

The Spirit finally lowered its finger and brought both hands up to its hood. It threw back its face shroud and finally revealed its face. It was another boy, but this boy had a black bandage wrapped around his eyes and the strands of silver hair that had been peaking out through the hood tumbled down to his shoulders in a silver cascade. Then, for the first time that night, he spoke but the words that he uttered made Draco go white in the face.

"Yes, Draco, that is you. You lie here with your family, but they are considered unworthy of this place. Your tomb is a blight on this plot of hallowed ground, but since your family must have the best you may now rot with those who gave their lives so that someone far more worthy than you might live and bring about an end to this insufferable war."

Draco couldn't speak. He fell to his knees and the snow swirled around him even faster. The pickup in the wind caused some of the snow that collected on the base of the tomb to blow away and there, in front of him, were written the words,

_Draco Malfoy_

_Born: August 11, 1980_

_Died: December 25, 2009_

He saw the day he had died and his voice carried over the wind,

"I don't wanna die like this! Spirit, don't let me die like this!"

"You were so certain of your status in life, but now you are just like everyone else here: bones. Just bones decomposing in the earth and no one has a decent memory of you. You lie here unwanted and forgotten forever."

Draco reached up and clasped the black cloak and pleaded,

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep myself from ending up like this! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it! I'll….I'll honor and respect everyone in school from now on and I won't throw my blood status in their faces anymore! I won't strut around like a peacock thinking that I'm better than everyone else! Spirit! Please tell me that I can erase this! I don't wanna die like this! Have mercy on me!"

"Let me go. Look now and see your final place of rest."

From somewhere inside the cloak, the boy-Spirit drew out a long weapon that resembled a giant bat's wing and he pointed it at the ground under Draco. The ground began to give way until it became the all-too familiar size and shape of a grave. Draco had to release the black cloak and hold on as best he could to the lip of the hole that had formed in the ground underneath him.

"SPIRIT!" he cried, "I'LL KEEP CHRISTMAS IN MY HEART TOO, AND REMEMBER THAT IT'S A TIME FOR OTHERS! NOT JUST ME! AHHHH, HELP ME!"

Beneath him, the ground had settled and Draco saw a coffin under his dangling feet. The outline of it was only visible because there was something that looked like fire around it. From that fire came licking tongues of flame that took on all manner of horrible monsters: chimeras, dragons and demons with horns and sharp instruments of torture. From that hole came a cruel, malevolent, hissing voice that made Draco try all the harder to scramble out of that hole, but he was failing fast.

"**Come to ussssss, Draaaacooooo. Join usssss and burn with ussssss, foreverrrrrr**."

Draco looked over his shoulder and saw the coffin lid open, and a denizen of a hellish nature that Draco had no name for jumped inside of it. The shifting earth finally gave way and his hands slipped from it and he began to fall.

"SPIRIIIIT! I'M SORRY!"

He hit the bottom of the coffin…..and woke up in his bed at Hogwarts. He sat bolt upright and ran his hands over his chest, neck and face to see if he was burning, but his skin was cool and intact. He stared at his hands for a moment and then, slowly, a wide grin began to spread over his face. He began to laugh,

"I…..I'm alive. Ha ha ha! I'M ALIVE!"

He threw back the curtains and saw Goyle snoring away in the adjacent bed. He bolted out of bed and ran downstairs to the Common Room, but there were no traces of any ghostly activity. He turned to the chair that he had been sitting in and saw a note laying there. He picked it up and read a short message that only confirmed what he had been through. It read,

_Draco,_

_Remember your promises and keep us, the Spirits of Christmas with you forever._

_PS: Sorry about the whole coffin thing. I had to get my point across._

_Riku (Christmas Future)_

Draco read the short note several more times and then, to his surprise, he began to laugh! He laughed and laughed until he was red in the face and a tear rolled down his cheek. I felt so good to laugh like this! Suddenly, he understood why Sora had been laughing this way: he had just been happy, which was something that Draco had not truly felt in a long time. As he laughed he began to wheel around the room in a kind of overly energetic waltz saying silly things like,

"I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive! Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Draco Malfoy isn't dead!"

Then he sank to his knees with the note in his hand and said,

"I will! I will remember the lessons that you've taught me! Thank you Kairi, Sora and Riku! I'm going to start right now!"

He rose from his knees and rushed back up the stairs to his dorm where he promptly collided with Goyle.

"Erm….whatcha doin' down here?" Goyle mumbled in a sleepy voice. Then a thought came to Draco's mind. He grabbed Goyle's shoulders and shouted

"GOYLE! WHAT DAY IS IT?"

"Uhhh…..what?"

"THE DAY! THE DAY! WHAT'S THE RUDDY DAY?"

"It's Christmas Day! Yeesh, you just about deafened me!"

Draco hardly heard him though as he released Goyle's shoulders and mused,

"They did it all in one night. Ha-ha! They did it all in one night!"

Goyle began to get seriously scared for his friend so he asked,

"Uhhh, Draco? Do I need to get Professor Snape? You're scaring me."

"Oh, sorry. Listen; there are some important things I have to do, but…oh! Here, come with me."

Draco bolted into his dorm and reached under his bed. He pulled out a package that hadn't been opened yet and shoved it into Goyle's arms confusing the daylights out of the boy even further.

"What's this for?"

"Merry Christmas, Goyle! Now, if you'll excuse me I have to get dressed."

Draco dressed in a hurry and grabbed a few important items from his trunk. He made his way out of the Common Room, but turned back a moment to look at the stone wall that had just snapped shut behind him. It remained smooth and impassive. Draco tilted his head back again and gave a hearty laugh. He gave a sharp turn on his heels and ran directly into Professor Snape. He looked up at the greasy man and regaled him with a warm and heartfelt,

"Merry Christmas, Professor!"

The only reply he received was a surprised raise of the eyebrows and a sneer, but Draco didn't really have time to see it because he rushed past Snape and into the Great Hall. Behind him, Snape muttered to himself,

"That boy has either been into some Firewhiskey, or he's drunk too much Anti-Depression Draught. I'd better go brew him up an antidote before he does anything stupid."

Snape took off for his lab to brew an antidote for a potion that Draco had never drunk. Meanwhile, upstairs in the Great Hall, Draco was making his way to the Slytherin table. However, halfway there, he collided into two girls. The three of them got up and one of the girls said,

"Oh, geez, I'm sorry. We weren't….oh. It's you."

It was the two from Hufflepuff whom he had spoken so rudely to the night before. Once they got a good look at who had bowled them over, he received two magnificent nasty looks that made him cringe a little. The bolder of the two got to her feet and helped her friend up. She completely ignored Draco and said,

"Come on, Mary. We've got better things to do."

They turned to go, but a voice behind them made them stop.

"Wait a moment! Please!"

They both turned around and the bolder girls demanded,

"What do you want? Oh wait, I know. Gonna tell us that we're a couple of insufferable Mudbloods not worthy of shining your shoes, right? Bugger off!"

"Is that how I sounded yesterday? Listen, I want to apologize for everything I said last night. It was mean and cruel and not even remotely true."

The girls frowns turned into expressions of shock and after a moment the bolder girl asked,

"Who are you and what have you done with Draco Malfoy?"

"I assure you, it's still me but I've recently had my life put into perspective for me."

"Uh….."

"Before you say anther word, I want to give you this."

Draco pulled a small jingling bag from his pocket and placed it in the girl's hand. She looked at it suspiciously, but spilled some of its contents into her other hand and gasped in surprise. There were several galleons there! All the two girls could do was stand there slack-jawed for a moment before the bold girl spoke again,

"Wait, these have to be cursed or something. This can't be real."

"Curse free, a Malfoy guarantee. Please take it and don't mention it to anyone. Just call me…an anonymous benefactor."

"Draco…this is….."

"Seriously, don't say a word."

Both girls ran their fingers over their mouths pantomiming a zipper being zipped up, but the looks on their faces beamed happiness and gratitude. Just to get his point across, Draco lifted his finger to his lips and hissed,

"Shhhhh."

The girls nodded and took off down the hall hiding the bag. Draco watched them go and he felt a smile on his face and in his heart. He continued walking through the castle feeling absolutely euphoric and to everyone he met, he gave a hearty and hale,

"Merry Christmas!"

Then he ran into the two people that he both dreaded talking to, but needed to see the most: Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. They regarded him with their usual silence and tried to walk past him but they stopped short when Draco called,

"Harry! Ron!"

They whipped around giving him a perplexed look as he had never used their first names before.

"What do you want?" Ron sneered.

"I…..there's, um…I need to talk to you."

Harry and Ron looked at each other with expressions on their faces betraying utter confusion, but Harry burst out with,

"Sod off, Malfoy!"

They turned to go, but Draco stopped them.

"No, wait! Please!"

Okay, now they were really curious. Draco Malfoy never said "please" to anybody.

"WHAT?" roared Harry.

Draco considered his next sentence very carefully, but the only thing he could come up with was,

"Ginny."

At the sound of his sister's name, Ron turned red in the face and tried to charge Draco, but Harry managed to hold him back. Ron yelled,

"DON'T YOU DARE MENTION MY SISTER, YOU LOUSY GIT!"

"RON, I'M SORRY!"

It was the ultimate disarm: the use of his first name and an apology? What was going on?

"Ron, Harry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've ever done or said to you and about you. I'm sorry for my family's treatment of you, and believe me when I tell you that I want to try and make it right."

Harry let Ron go and walked up to Draco and looked him right in the eyes. He stared him down, expecting to find some trace of dishonesty, but Draco assumed that he had found none because Harry stepped back and asked,

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

"I wanna help Ginny get better."

Draco noticed Ron ball up his fists and tense up, and he was suddenly deathly afraid of getting slugged by the tall redhead.

"What?" asked Harry suspiciously.

"I wanna help Ginny get better," he repeated, "Something happened to me last night that I can't explain but it forced me to take a real good look at myself."

Harry and Ron crossed their arms and Ron retorted,

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

Draco whipped out the note that the Spirits of Christmas had given him and handed it over to them. Harry took it and examined it and after a moment asked,

"The Spirits of Christmas? You were visited by the Spirits of Christmas?"

"You know them?"

"Not personally, but I know of them. If this is real then maybe we'll listen to what you have to say, but I swear Malfoy; if you are up to something then we are both going to kick your butt so hard that your kids will inherit the bruises."

Draco nodded and replied,

"Fair enough. How can I prove that this is real?"

Harry thought for a moment before replying,

"Let's take it to Dumbledore. If anybody would know anything about it, it would be him."

Draco led the way while the two befuddled Gryffindors followed behind at a respectable distance (with their hands on their wands) just in case there was any funny business. They arrived at the Gargoyle that marked the entrance to the Headmaster's office and Harry spoke the password,

"Lemon Drops."

The Gargoyle jumped aside allowing them passage. The three of them ascended the staircase and found Professor Dumbledore pouring over a stack of paperwork. He looked up to see who had entered and was immediately surprised by his young guests.

"Ron! Harry! Draco! What brings you to my office on this fine Christmas Day? Shouldn't you be downstairs in the Great Hall enjoying breakfast?"

"We should be, Professor, but _he_," Ron indicated to Draco, "Wanted to show you something."

Draco stepped forward and nervously asked,

"Um, sir? Have you ever heard of the Spirits of Christmas?"

"Indeed I have. They are an elusive bunch, but probably one of the most formidable groups of Spirits in existence. Why do you ask?"

"Well…..they came to me last night."

Dumbledore rose from his seat and approached the three boys, but his words were for Draco only.

"What do you mean 'they came to you'?"

Draco relayed the story of how his Grandfather had come to him and how he had been taken to his past, the present and the future, and he described them as best he could. When he was finished he handed Dumbledore the note they had left for him. Dumbledore took it and sat back down at his desk and scrutinized the little note. After a moment he replied,

"I am inclined to believe that you are telling the truth, Mr. Malfoy."

Harry and Ron looked up in shock and Ron exclaimed,

"What?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at the interruption and said,

"Silence, Mr. Weasley. Yes, there is an unmistakable…something about this note that leads me to believe that you have indeed visited the Spirit World. You are lucky, too. Only one other person is said to have that happed to him and live to tell the tale."

"Who was that?" Draco inquired.

"An elderly gentleman who lived in London several years ago. His name was Ebenezer Scrooge, and he was a bitter old man who hated Christmas with a passion. But he too was reformed by the Spirits of Christmas. It has been many years since that has happened, but it appears that they found another worthy candidate for such an incredible journey. Tell me, Draco, how do you feel now that your adventure is over?"

"I don't really know. I feel different, that's for sure."

"Different how?"

"I guess I feel…nicer? Less bitter? I don't know."

"And what do you intend to do with these new feelings of yours?"

"I wanna help his sister," Draco pointed at Ron. Dumbledore gazed at Draco with his twinkling blue eyes and asked,

"How do you want to help her?"

"I know what's wrong with her. She's dying because of a cursed diary my father gave her in her first year. Whatever curse she's under is slowly draining her life away."

Dumbledore raised both his eyebrows and remarked,

"Tom Riddle's diary? Well then, it appears that we have some new information for the Healers at St. Mungo's. I'll go there immediately and inform them of this new development. Thank you, Draco. You have just saved this young girl's life. Now if you will all excuse me."

Dumbledore rose from his seat and shooed them out of his office and departed immediately for St. Mungo's Hospital. Meanwhile, Ron and Harry were looking at Draco with expressions that he was having a hard time reading. Was it admiration? Or perhaps anger? Or was it that same loathing that they had always regarded him with? Then he got an idea,

"Listen, guys, there's something else I want to give you."

He reached into his pockets and pulled out two small, neatly wrapped packages and held them out to Ron and Harry. They glanced at each other and gingerly took the packages and opened the wrapping. Inside were two shiny new silver water goblets. They withdrew them from their little boxes and as soon as they touched them the silver became a deep gold and a rampant red lion on a golden banner appeared on them. At the sight of these little goblets, Ron and Harry seemed to be struck dumb so Draco explained,

"I usually get something like this from my father every year to give to Crabbe and Goyle. When touched, those Goblets take on the symbol from whatever house you are in and anything you put in them will remain fresh for a week. I always found them fascinating, and I asked my father specifically for these this year. I hope you like them, but if you'll excuse me I have to go find one more person."

Draco turned on his heels and left the two (seemingly permanently perplexed) Gryffindors behind him. When he was out of sight, Ron turned to Harry and asked,

"Do you think he's gone round the bend?"

"I think….you know, I don't know what to think. This has been a weird Christmas."

"You said it. I'm thinking that we should take these to McGonagall just in case he cursed them with some sort of Spy Charm or something."

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

The Gryffindors took off for McGonagall's office while Draco headed into the Great Hall to wait for someone. It was nearly half an hour, but he finally spotted the small second-year Gryffindor that he had set Goyle on the night before. Thomas was singing a carol that he had never heard before at the top of his lungs and Draco had to admit that the kid had a good voice.

"_Come together one and all,_

_In the giving Spirit,_

_Gifts abound here great and small,_

_Joyously we feel it._

_Blessings sent us from above,_

_Guide us on our way,_

_We raise our voice as we rejoice,_

_Bow our heads and pray,_

_A miracle has just begun,_

_God bless us, everyone_!"

At the end of the verse, Thomas walked by the Slytherin table and Draco got his attention.

"Thomas?"

Before he could start on the second verse, he turned around to see who said his name and when he saw whom it was, he whipped out his wand, brandished against Draco and squeaked,

"You are NOT going to set your dog on me again!"

"Stop that and put that away! You're going to get us both in trouble! I just want to talk to you real quick."

Thomas never lowered his wand but he asked,

"What do you want?"

"Um….well, I was wondering…..is that invitation to the Gryffindor Table still open?"

Thomas lowered his wand and gave Draco a perplexed look.

"Huh?"

"You were right, Thomas. If only for a little while, we need to forget the fighting between our Houses; especially on Christmas. So…..am I still invited?"

The little second-year gaped at him for a moment before a wide grin spread across his face and he replied with gusto,

"Of course you're invited! All the Slytherins are! In fact, I'm gonna go ask Professor Hagrid if there can only be one table at the Christmas Feast tonight!"

Thomas took off to find Hagrid and Draco smiled. That night, instead of four, only one table was set for dinner in the Great Hall and every student who had elected to stay behind at school ate together. There was, of course, some tension, but the Spirits of Christmas seemed to have descended on the school and everyone was in good spirits. About halfway through the Feast, Draco looked down at the end of the hall over by the Slytherin side and could have sworn that he saw three familiar characters that had led him on the journey that he would never forget. Kairi with her pretty red hair crowned with a holly wreath, Sora with his strange key and always seemed to find joy in any situation, and Riku who was still robed in black, but no longer had his hood shrouding his face nor wore a black bandage over his eyes.

Draco saw them for just a moment but in that moment, he thought he saw Sora point that weird key at him and a golden beam of light shoot from its end. Then he was sure of it for he felt joy unlike any other fill him up and he tipped his head back and laughed. He laughed in an infectious way and soon the entire table was laughing right along with him. They didn't know what was so funny, but they did know that for one night there was unity and friendship where there had been none in a long time. However, the crowing moment of the evening was when the doors to the Great Hall swung open and Professor Dumbledore walked in with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley on either side of him and leading the way was a red-headed girl who, although still weak, was definitely on the mend. Everyone in the room faced the strange little procession and Dumbledore said,

"It is my pleasure to inform everyone that Ginny Weasley is well on her way to getting better and has elected to spend the remainder of the Christmas holiday here with the rest of her family."

Ron and Harry rose from their seats and were the first to greet her. She hugged them both and said,

"I'm gonna be okay. The Healers said that I should be back to normal in a week."

"That's great Ginny!" said Harry. Ginny gave him an odd look and handed him a note. She said,

"When you have a moment alone, I'd like to talk to you about this note you wrote. You made it sound like I was already dead."

"Note? What note? I didn't…."

She held up her hand and said,

"We'll talk later, Harry."

Harry shrugged, put the note in his pocket, and went with her to join the other students at the table. There was much toasting and 'welcome back's' from the students and when Dumbledore had reached his seat at the staff table, he tapped the table for attention and everyone quieted down.

"Now then, since Miss Ginny has returned to us there seems to only be one thing left to say. Merry Christmas everyone!"

The student congregation and the staff, including Professor Snape although he was rather lackluster about it, raised their glasses high and replied in one voice,

"Merry Christmas!"

Then Ginny added on,

"And God bless us all!"

They drank to the season and soon after, retired to bed. Unheard and unseen, the Spirits of Christmas remained in the room until the candles had been put out and everyone was asleep. Sora turned to Kairi and said,

"I don't believe you have given me the pleasure of a kiss under the mistletoe, my love."

"Well, it's not midnight yet, so I think I can oblige."

The two Spirits shared a sweet loving kiss that only those who belong the Spirit World can experience, while Riku looked on in approval. When it was over he said to them,

"Hey, did you guys see that greasy-looking guy sitting next to the old guy with the beard?"

"Yes; he looked rather…unpleasant," Kairi replied.

"Do you think we may have another candidate for next year?" Sora inquired.

"Eh, give him a little time. Maybe he'll come around. In the meantime, I am going to bed for the next 365 days and I suggest you two do the same."

"We'll be along shortly."

Riku disappeared from the room leaving Sora and Kairi behind. They gazed around the empty room and Kairi snuggled into the rich fabric of Sora's robe.

"Do you think next Christmas will be just as good for them, Sora?"

"I hope so."

"What about Draco and Anna?"

"I know that Draco has begun to write her a letter and I think he plans to mail it tonight."

"Good."

Sora gave her a warm hug and Kairi hugged him back, but then she broke into a wide yawn.

"Come on, Kairi, let's go home. I'm tired and judging from the way you are yawning, so are you."

And with that they departed from the castle.

Draco was better than his word. Eventually, he got Harry and the rest of the Weasley clan to warm up to imp and soon began to regard them as his dearest friends. He did get in touch with Anna and learned that she was not a Squib as they had originally thought, but her powers had developed a little later in life and now she was attending school in Albania. When Draco graduated from Hogwarts, Anna was there to see him and he was there to see her graduate as well. Throughout the years, there were many more Christmases together, but Draco knew that none would ever come close to that one fateful night where his life was changed forever. Sometimes he swore he saw glimpses of the Spirits at Christmastime, but he was never really sure until he felt something like light pierce his heart and then he would know that they were nearby watching over him. So let it be said of all of us that we know how to keep Christmas alive and well, and realize that it is a time of giving instead of receiving. Whether it's the giving of one's heart or the giving of a simple item to show your love, never forget the lessons that Christmas itself has to teach us. So as Dumbledore and Ginny observed,

Merry Christmas and God bless us all!

* * *

><p>I know that i posted this some time before the holidays, but I had to write it. I hope you enjoyed it, and Merry Christmas! Please keep reviewing as your feedback is desired and appreciated. Thank you!<p> 


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